While many residents of the New York metropolitan area can recite regional facts and trivia, like Yankee statistics or relevant Sinatra lyrics, ask them about the “Career Girls” murder and their faces will probably look blank.
But author T.J. English, who will be speaking and signing copies of his book this week at the Weehawken Public Library, hopes that will change soon.
“This dramatic case was huge in its day and [has] been forgotten,” English told the Reporter last week. “Usually when things get forgotten, there’s a reason.”
“I wanted to tell a story that would encapsulate all the different facets, like a kaleidoscope.” – T.J. English
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Before they became a victim of history forgotten, the murders of two young, white “career” women (coincidentally on the same day Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C.) struck fear throughout New York City.
English uses the horrifying double murder to explore one of the most volatile periods in U.S. history in his book, “The Savage City”, which traces the era of the Civil Rights Movement through the murders and subsequent investigation and trials.
Hudson County residents are invited to take a step back into time and delve into current racial issues with the noted journalist, screenwriter, and author of several New York Times bestsellers, as he leads a discussion on his latest work during his appearance at the library on June 15 at 7 p.m.
Kaleidoscope of an era
At first glance, some might wonder what an Irish boy from Tacoma, Wash. knows about the Civil Rights Movement – or Manhattan, for that matter.
When he arrived in New York City in 1981, English immediately enrolled in the “university of the streets,” as he calls it – working as a taxi driver.
“It was like a crash course in learning the lay of the land,” he said. “The people, the different races, social classes; it was a great immersion into everything you need to know about New York City.”
As for the racial barrier, English said that as a child during the years of the Civil Rights Movement, he soaked in the images on the news and was intrigued by the national phenomenon.
“Those images and the narrative of the civil rights movement was something that felt very personal to me,” he said. “It was the American story playing out. [It’s] not a story that’s only relevant to African-Americans. It’s about whether or not the United States of America is capable of living up to the principles that it set down for itself.”
English spent four years exclusively researching the case and writing the story, which goes beyond the Career Girls murder to examine the era as a whole.
He sought to tell the story through the eyes and ears of the people who lived it – tracking down three of the major players in the case including an innocent man wrongly accused of murder, a corrupt cop, and a militant Black Panther.
“I wanted to tell a story that would encapsulate all the different facets, like a kaleidoscope,” he said. “You see it from a bunch of different angles and in doing that you get a fuller and more profound understanding of what’s going on.”
Savage realities
While the country has taken some dramatic steps forward since the days of the Civil Rights Movement, English said that during his research he found that there is still a long way to go.
“This is a touchy era for a lot of people,” he said. “A lot of the emotion has been left unresolved.”
He hopes that the book will play a role in educating people about history and that it will be utilized as a vehicle to start a conversation on race.
One way that is happening is through a documentary that was produced by a young filmmaker who followed English as he conducted his promotional tour for the book.
The documentary, “Savage Realities,” is featured on English’s website.
What about Jersey’s crime bosses?
Known for his bestsellers about various aspects of organized crime and the “criminal underworld, English is currently working on his next book, which will center around the Mexican drug war taking place in Juarez – a topic he began to explore in an article featured in Playboy this year.
He previously touched on Hudson County’s Hague political machine in his book “Paddy Whacked.” He was asked whether he has any plans for a book venturing exclusively into the world of New Jersey crime.
English laughed and said, “That’s a lifelong project, I think.”
English makes a special appearance at the Weehawken Library, 49 Hauxhurst Ave., June 15 at 7 p.m. for a discussion and signing of “The Savage City.” The event is free.
Lana Rose Diaz can be reached at ldiaz@hudsonreporter.com.