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Community Organizations
Throughout the 20th century, Camden was home to many organizations that were focused on improving the lives of Camden citizens. The groups were created to advocate for Camden citizens in ongoing issues the city facing that affected certain constituencies, such as ethnicity, religion, and housing status.

The North Camden Civic Association was a "non political organization for the betterment of all the citizens of North Camden." The North Camden Civic Association was involved in representing Camden citizens in a bridge expansion project that would create a tunnel on North 6th Street and allow the newly developed Delaware River Joint Commission to take control over $240,000 worth of Camden City ratables. The association described the proposed actions of the Delaware River Commission as "arbitrary and capricious" as the Commission would be given eminent domain over the land and the commission lacked the representation of citizens. The association passed a resolution ...

The Concerned Citizens of North Camden became a community advocacy organization in December of 1978. The group was focused improving North Camden by protesting for "better housing, cleaner streets, and more jobs; to unify the community across lines of race and national origin..." In April of 1979, 50 members of Concerned Citizens of North Camden protested a city council meeting and stated that the city had "demonstrated a lack of commitment to housing by allocating only $1.6 million dollars of the $4.9 million dollar grant for rehabilitation. The Camden City council disagreed. The Concerned Citizens of North Camden were involved in more protests throughout the late 20th century and the organization was reawakened in 2018.

The Black Student Unity Movement of Rutgers Camden was founded in 1969 by black students who attended Rutgers University. While segregation in public education was deemed unconstitutional by the decision in Brown v. Board of Education, universities still had policies in place that caused de facto segregation. On February 10th, three students from the Black Student Unity Movement interrupted a political science class that was taking place on Rutgers-Camden's campus and dispersed papers that listed the movements demands. Some demands listed by the Black Student Unity Movement were "that all racist faculty be removed from the university, a Urban Education Department be established, and that the new library addition be named after Paul Robeson." The movement was unable to get their demands met by Rutgers University immediately, but in 1991, Paul Robeson Library was established on the Rutgers-Camden campus.

Puerto Rican Unity for Progress is a multi service, community based organization that is located in Camden and serves the Hispanic community who reside in the city. The organization was established in 1976 and opened its physical location at 437 Broadway Street in Camden in June 1978. The organization's mission states that "the agency offers assistance to Camden residents in the areas of housing, tenant-related matters, family planning, job placement, and educational counseling." In September of 1977, Rutgers-Camden demoted the only Puerto Rican faculty member, Professor Ivette Puerta, who was the founder of the Graduate Program of Social Work. This demotion was protested by the Puerto Rican Unity for Progress. In 2012, Puerto Rican Unity for Progress acquired a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental protections to install a rain garden on their property. This garden treats and intercepts stormwater that otherwise would affect water quality in Camden.

The Parkside Business and Community In Partnership organization was established as a non-profit corporation in February of 1993. The organization's mission is focused on civic engagement, community building, and providing assistance in different forms to disadvantaged residents of the Parkside neighborhood. In October of 1991, the Parkside Business and Community In Partnership organization hosted the "Drugs Destroy Dreams March". The organization stated the aim of the march was to "reclaim the streets and to build upon the success of recent block parties and cleanups that have sparked Parkside's civic pride." The PBCIP is still active in the city of Camden and continue to support Camden citizens in various ways.

Corinne's Place is a Black-owned soul food restaurant located in Camden, New Jersey. Corinne Bradley-Powers opened the restaurant on Haddon Avenue in 1989. In February of 2022, The James Beard Foundation awarded Corinne's Place with the America's Classic award. The James Beard America's Classics Award is awarded to "locally owned restaurants that have timeless appeal and beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community." Corinne's Place is one of six soul food restaurants that have been awarded the America's Classic Award to date.

On November 27, 2017, The Camden County Historical Society unveiled a series of markers to be placed at sites in the city of Camden where enslaved Africans were once sold. The markers are located in Camden at Cooper Poynt Park, on Federal Street, and on Cooper and Front Street. The Camden County Historical Society has accounted for more than 800 enslaved people disembarked from ships at the Camden Waterfront. The three ferries in Camden were the sites of slave auctions that introduced 300 new enslaved people to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The ferries that docked at Cooper and Front Street typically carried minor groups of male and female enslaved people and previously owned single slaves. Ferries were an integral aspect of the development of the city of Camden as they lead to the formation of small towns. These small towns would consist of stores, warehouses, and hotels that would further develop into full cities like Camden.

On June 20th, 2020, students of Rutgers University-Camden created a petition that called for, "the removal of the Walt Whitman statue which stands tall in the middle of our campus." Walt Whitman was an American poet and writer, who purchased a house in Camden in 1864, where he wrote his defining work, "Leaves of Grass". In some of his works, Walt Whitman referred to black individuals as "baboons" and "wild brutes" and had utilized a racial slur against black people. Many Black intellectuals have called for these comments to be discussed at the same time as praise of Walt Whitman. Rutgers University-Camden addressed the concerns proposed in the petition by hosting virtual meetings with community members, university faculty, students, and historians. In 2021, the statute of Walt Whitman was moved from the front of the Rutgers University-Camden campus center to a garden space on campus and included