Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Expressing Support
Purpose: Resolution of Support for the New Jersey Statewide
Black Agenda
Sponsor: Council Member, Louise Scott-Rountree
Additional Information:
body
WHEREAS, the State of New Jersey is enriched by the diversity, resilience, and profound contributions of its Black residents, yet continues to face deep, persistent racial disparities including one of the widest racial wealth gaps in the nation; and
WHEREAS, community activist, advocates, civil rights leaders and organizations across the Garden State have coalesced around a unified New Jersey Statewide Black Agenda to address structural inequities through transformative and reparative policymaking; and
WHEREAS, the New Jersey Statewide Black Agenda prioritizes critical, intersectional areas essential to community flourishing and generational wealth-building, including:
l Economic Equity & Housing: Closing the racial wealth gap, expanding targeted investments for first-time and first-generation Black homebuyers, supporting Black-owned businesses and advancing community-led urban development;
l Health & Human Dignity: Eradicating the Black maternal health crisis and expanding access to community-based primary healthcare, mental healthcare, trans healthcare and homeless services;
l Justice & Public Safety: Reforming community policing to include protecting the rights of our youth while fortifying foundational civil and voting rights protections like the NJ John Lewis Voter Empowerment Act and protections for the LGBTQIA+ community;
l Education & Environment: Strengthening inclusive education curricula, such as the Amistad Commission mandates, and championing the investment in green infrastructure in Black urban communities;
and
WHEREAS, true democratic vitality requires state and local governments to move beyond symbolic gestures and take accountable, actionable, steps alongside Black leadership and community coalitions.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Municipal Council Members of the City of Newark hereby express support for the core goals, policy priorities and principles, of the New Jersey Statewide Black Agenda.
2. The Municipal Council Members of the City of Newark urges state legislators, county officials, municipal official, and administrative leaders to intentionally partner with community stakeholders, adopt targeted legislative solutions, and direct resources toward dismantling systemic racism and achieving equity for Black New Jerseyans.
3. A copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Office of the Governor, local legislative representatives, and key coalition partners driving the New Jersey Statewide Black Agenda forward.
STATEMENT
Resolution expressing support for the New Jersey Statewide Black Agenda and to call for a collective demand for reparations for slavery, segregation and the continued impact of systemic racism on the Black community.