Current News

By Carol Dobbins, Contributing Writer

On September 20, 2007, Carnie Bragg Funeral Homes family and staff greeted with embrace generations of guests at the Brownstone House for a gala 70th Anniversary Celebration.

Two funeral homes built from humble beginnings by Carnie P. Bragg Sr., and his wife Eunice in 1937 on Myrtle Avenue, Passaic and 1945 on Graham Avenue; now Rosa Parks Boulevard,Paterson remain distinctive landmarks in Passaic County.

Hundreds came from far and near, packing the house to celebrate pride and life the business has given to twin communities. Synonymous with quality service that Bragg has provided for decades, conveyance of gratitude from families, one to another added sentiment to the two floor class act extravaganza.

A sit down dinner, impressively presented with unique blends of music, provided dual entertainment on both levels. In addition to live entertainment performed by New York’s Warren Daniels Band, and the unmistakable DJ sounds of Paterson’s Mojo, guests received photo mementos of the superb evening.

“It is overwhelming to see so many people here happy, dancing and having fun, because we usually meet in the funeral home” said Constance Bragg Wright, celebrating her birthday at the party.
“This is really nice and I hope everyone had a good time. I want to thank them for celebrating with us.”

“What happened today is a big celebration for the entire community. I’m happy to celebrate with Constance and Carnie, congratulations to both of them”.- Donald Cooper, Margaret’s Hair Salon

“This event was beautiful, it was community, the way it was, and the way it can be again.” -Dr Mary Garner, CEO/Director The Paterson Community Health Center.

” I feel beautiful, wonderful that everyone had a great time. We hope to continue many more years doing the same that we have been doing. We appreciate everyone coming” said Carnie P. Bragg.

Some ask how did the business endure the test of time; many answer with trust, respect and dedication. Although a few nips and tucks along the way have improved the establishment’s appearance, the compassionate family atmosphere is still the same after all these years.

“Seventy years celebrating The Bragg Funeral Home is an extension of our family. Carnie is family oriented and he values the staff as family. When he goes out of town and returns everything is in tact, that’s how he trust us” said Staff Members David Robinson and Eleanor Rudolph. “If something happens to one, it effects all of us. We love and do have good times, but when it comes time to work; we work as a family team.”

” Carnie is a special human being, a sincere man, and he takes care of business in the best possible way. He is all about people, and always has been. I think it’s an amazing thing, that as a minority business owner, you can build a business and stay this strong for so long. He is still growing, that’s the amazing part about it.”-Martin Barnes,Former Mayor, Paterson.

“Everyone needs to take their hats off to them for the vision of Mr. Bragg and for the continued vision of Constance, Carnie and the rest of the individuals that help towards the success of the Bragg Funeral Home” -Calvin Merrit, President Passaic NAACP.

“For the community to embrace my family the way they have for the last seventy years, as well as the business, I think it’s a great testament to how they support the families and at the same time, the community supports them back” said Aminifu Brown, Grandson of Constance Wright. “It’s a give and take, you just can’t take and not give back”

“Bragg symbolizes, success, business, African American pride and heritage in Paterson. They are just one of the true pillars of our community” stated Benjie Wimberly, Director, Paterson Dept. of Recreation.
“You can wrap it up all in one, and it says Carnie Bragg Funeral Home”

On August 16th the Bragg family sponsored an anniversary block party, complete with food, kid’s entertainment and dancing in the street. More than 2000 people showed up for the five hour festival on Rosa Parks Boulevard, making it Paterson’s largest family reunion.

PATERSON – No one in the Fourth Ward neighborhood that houses the Carnie P. Bragg Funeral Home was surprised when the business announced it would celebrate its 70th anniversary with a free block party open to the whole city.

After all, owner Carnie Bragg Jr. gives away season Giants tickets to kids and often lowers prices for those who can’t afford funerals. He didn’t leave the neighborhood he grew up in when the streets grew rougher, though his prosperous business has given him the means to do so.
“There’s a closeness here,” Bragg said Saturday.

He sat in a lawn chair at the corner of the parking lot next to his funeral home, watching kids line up to get cotton candy and hamburgers. Half a block of Hamilton Avenue between Rosa Parks Boulevard and Carroll Street had been blocked off for the afternoon, and people ate and talked while a DJ spun hip-hop and kids jumped inside a bouncy castle.

Every few minutes, a resident would come by to shake Bragg’s hand. Many told stories about how he had personally helped them through the death of a loved one.

Angela Fraser, a Paterson resident attending the party, lost her mother in February and felt depressed for months. Bragg called often to console her, she said. When she felt apprehensive about going to visit her mother’s grave, Bragg sent a member of his staff to go with her.
“I wish he could be cloned,” Fraser said. “It doesn’t matter what your social caste is. You could be a lawyer, a doctor, a judge or homeless, and you would never know when you talk to him.”
Treating people as equals is one of the things Bragg said he learned from his parents, Carnie P. and Eunice Bragg, who started the first Bragg Funeral Home in Passaic in 1937. The business remains on Myrtle Avenue.

“Never try to think you’re better than everybody else,” he said, growing visibly emotional as he talked about his parents’ legacy. “People put you up on a pedestal. But I never felt that way. … You don’t know what people go through, and just by speaking to them, you can help.”
When the Braggs first started the funeral home, Bragg Sr. worked on a garbage truck to supplement the family’s income until the business was self-sustaining, said Constance Wright, Bragg Jr.’s sister. She still helps run the funeral home. The family opened the Paterson home in 1945, after Bragg’s mother got her funeral director’s license.

Bragg still lives above the Paterson funeral home. He worries about the drugs that have become more present in the neighborhood. Some said that in the wake of recent shootings in Paterson, more block parties are needed.

“With recent shootings in the community and crime, we need something positive so we can come and have a good time and there doesn’t have to be any violence. And it’s all free,” said Kenny Simmons, owner of K+R Catering.
Another caterer, Mike Jackson of On the Job Sports Café in Paterson, was inspired by Bragg’s business acumen.

“He has given a great deal of inspiration for a lot of young people, especially African-American people, coming up and starting businesses,” Jackson said.
Most of all, people were glad to see the Bragg family around.

“This is where he grew up and he wants the area to succeed,” said Irvin Jacobs, a 47-year-old who remembers when he was a neighborhood kid and Bragg would give him a quarter to buy Bazooka bubble gum and Now and Later candies. “This is home to him.”

Former Mayor Celebrates Birthday:
A Birthday Party was held for Marty Barnes, former mayor of Paterson, NJ, on March 5, 2006 at the Brownstone

With Black History Month upon us, it seems appropriate to review the story of this great movemment in mass education and pay tribute to its founder. Black history celebrations have done much to preserve and recognize the contributions and achievements of African-American people in our past. Praise should be given to Dr.Carter G. Woodson, who organized the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), and founded the Celebration of Negro History Week.

Woodson was born in Buckingham County, Virginia, then came to Huntington, West Virginia as a teenager to pursue his education. He graduated from Douglass High School in 1986 and returned there as principal from 1900 to 1903. He continued his education at Berea College and the Unuversity of Chicago, earning a Ph.D. from Harvard.

Dr. Woodson’s book The Negro in Our History, published in 1922, was for many years a most popular and valued book. His essays The Mis-Education of the Negro, published in 1933, continue to provide challenge and stimulus for black Americans.

Through his writings and his organizational ability, Dr. Woodson promoted and insured the viability of black history in schools and colleges in this country. This was his first attempt at replacing misconceptions about African-Americans with documented fact.

He was convinced that if a race had no recorded history, its achievements would be forgotten or ignored, and eventually claimed by others. In February 1926, through ASNLH, Dr. Woodson launched a campaign for “Negro History Week.” This was Dr. Woodson’s second attempt to gain security and self-confidence for African-Americans, an d a change in public opinion. The new celebration was to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, on February 12 and 14.

Circulars with information and suggestions for commemorative activities were sent to educational institutions, public libraries, religious, fraternal snd labor organizations, social welfare and literary societies, Everywhere, the call was answered with enthusiasm. Book displays were mounted, speaders called in, and successful personalities were presented as “living examples” of black accomplishment. From the beginning, news stories and editorials were printed and numerous pamphlets published.

The first “Negro History Week” was a definite success and the movement was a great accomplishment. For 65 years it has continued to be more popular, more effective and more needed than ever.

Dr. Woodson devoted his life to the mission of researching and documenting African-American history. Woodson believed that an accurate understanding of this history would promote pride within the black community and foster greater respect from society.

Dr. Woodson brought to the forefront an important aspect of the nation’s past that most historians had distorted or ignored. Stately in appearance and resevred in manner, but with a fervor in his commitment, Dr. Carter G. Woodson is known as the “Father of Afro-American History.”

Dr. Woodson said, “we should emphasize not Negro history, What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world, void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice. There should be no indulgence in undue eulogy of the Negro, The case of the Negro is well taken care of when it is shown how he has influenced the development of civilization.”

In 1976, the celebration wa expanded to National Afor-American History Month in honor of the nation’s bicentenial. Since then, U.S. presidents have praised the mission of ASNLH and urged Americans to observe Black History Month.

The African-American has played a vital pare in the building of America’s economic strength, as a fighting man in all of his country’s wars, as a contributor to national culture, as a figure of importance in sports, and as a participant in all of the varied activities of American life. During Black History Month, only brief glimpses into limtited areas of African-American life are possible. However, each celebration of Black History Month insures continuing attention to this vital component of American history and culture.

Reprinted with permission of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wiberforce, Obio.
©1996 Batesville Casdet Company
BHM0094

The Life Members’ Guild of New Jersey has selected Carnie P. Bragg, Jr. to be honored as ‘Associate of the Year’ at the Annual African-American Heritage Brunch, which will be held on September 25, 2004. The location and time for the Brunch is as follows:

The Brownstone House
351 West Broadway
Paterson, New Jersey
(201) 595-8582
Time: 9:30AM – 12:30 PM

For tickets, please contact:
Linda Crayton – (973) 672-6995
Irene Parsons – (908) 686-0622

Donation: $25.00

RSVP – Beulah Gaskins (973) 881-1952

By Carol Dobbins
Staff Writer for the New Jersey Forum

It should be written somewhere that behind every great business is a great staff.

On June 28, 2004 over 340 people attended an appreciation dinner held at The Brownstone honoring past and present Associates of Bragg’s Funeral Home. Ministers, dignitaries and appreciative guests from all walks of life helped to make this lively event a memorable occasion. There were no tears on this day, just smiles and support from communities showing overwhelming love, support, respect and thanks.

For over half a century the Bragg Funeral Home, a second generation family owned and operated business, has dedicatedly served residents of New Jersey. Known for personal caring , compassionate, and exceptional professional service they provide in the time of life’s most stressful situations, families have become dependent upon and have made The Carnie P. Bragg Funeral Home a household name.

The Staff consists of licensed embalmers, office and maintenance personnel who are highly dedicated and trained to handle all ethnic and religious services . The Bragg Associates are known to bring a friendly yet comforting smile when assisting grieving families.

Honorees presented with awards for 10 years or more of service were:

In 1937 Carnie P. Bragg Sr. and his wife Eunice co-founded a funeral home on Myrtle Avenue in Passaic, N.J. Due to the exceptional level of compassionate service provided to the community, Mr. Bragg moved to Paterson, N.J. with his wife and two children Constance and Carnie Jr. opening a second location at Rosa Parks Boulevard.

On August 4, 1972 Carnie Bragg, Sr. President of the National Funeral Directors and Morticians Associations, was tragically killed in an automobile accident. Under the direction of Eunice Bragg and with the assistance of Constance and Carnie, Jr. the business continued to provide exceptional service to families in need. After the passing of Mrs. Bragg on November 7, 1990, both Constance and Carnie Jr. were left to carry on the family business. Respectfully providing excellence in service. Constance and Carnie, Jr. have continued to build an organization comprised of dedicated staff members, both past and present, who have contributed to the heritage of the company and whom remain committed to servicing families in their most difficult time of need.

On Thursday evening, May 6, 2004, the Passaic County Community College Foundation held its 13th Annual Foundation Scholarship Gala at the Historic Hamilton Club in Paterson, New Jersey. The Foundation Gala, the College’s major fund-raising event of the year, raised more than $85,000 in scholarship support for needy PCCC students, the most money ever raised by the Foundation.

At this year’s event, the College honored Mr. Carnie P. Bragg, Jr. with the Outstanding Achievement Award and Toys R Us.com with the Corporate Excellence Award. The event attracted more than 300 guests. Among the highlights of the evening, the college president, Dr. Steven M. Rose, presented awards to Mr. Bragg and Toys R Us.com. The event also included a silent auction that raised nearly $8,000 with more than 50 items donated by local businesses and friends of the college.