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  • The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice launched the New Jersey Reparations Council to determine how to compensate Black people impacted by the legacy of slavery in the Garden State.
  • The New Jersey Legislature has yet to pass a bill introduced in 2019 calling for the formation of a state reparations task force.

On Juneteenth in 2023, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a Newark-based advocacy group, launched the New Jersey Reparations Council to determine how to compensate Black people impacted by the legacy of slavery in the Garden State. The council’s goal was to put out a report on Juneteenth in 2025 outlining how those reparations would work.

Two years later, that goal has been met with the long-awaited report, “For Such a Time as This: The Nowness of Reparations for Black People in New Jersey,” which will be released to the public at 7 p.m. June 19 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

Jean-Pierre Brutus, senior counsel for the Institute’s Economic Justice Program, who also serves as the head of the Reparations Council, said he is looking forward to the public hearing the report after two years of work by the council.

Brutus did not offer specifically what is in the report, preferring for details to be revealed at the NJPAC event. He did say that it is 200 to 250 pages, and there are nine chapters that “tell one story” that covers everything from the history of reparations organizing in the U.S. to policy recommendations of the council.

The council’s report comes at a time when the subject of reparations can elicit negative reactions and resistance at the state and national levels.

The New Jersey Legislature has yet to pass a bill introduced in 2019 calling for the formation of a state reparations task force, and there has been no hearing scheduled for discussion. However, numerous municipalities in New Jersey, including Montclair, have supported its passage. Several states, including New York and California, have created commissions or task forces since 2019 to study reparations.

Brutus said he hopes the report will spur the passage of the bill and the creation of the task force that will carry out the recommendations in the report. He pointed out that the lack of progress on the state level was what led to the creation of the council in the first place.

“Hopefully, this report will demonstrate to the Legislature the need, the immediacy, and the urgency for comprehensive reparations in New Jersey,” Brutus said. “And if needed, a task force that will look at additional issues to further expand upon the work that has been done in this report … To move us forward, not to the side and not backward.”

Registration for the free event is at njpac.com. Those unable to attend can view the report on the council’s website on the day of the release.

After two years

Most of the committee members will be on the panels that are part of the June 19 event. There will be several sections for the evening:

  • Introduction by Paulette Brown
  • Fireside Chat (Courageous Philanthropy & Advocacy) with Amber Randolph, Maisha Simmons, Rich Besser, and Ryan Haygood.
  • Panel 1: “From the slave state of the north to the two New Jerseys,” moderated by Taja-Nia Henderson with panelists Dreisen Heath, Melissa Miles, Walter Greason and Madiba Dennie.
  • Panel 2: “What’s next to move reparations forward?”, moderated by Khalil Gibran Muhammad with panelists Jean-Pierre Brutus, Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, the Rev. Charles Boyer, Nicole Rodriguez and Larry Hamm.
  • The conclusion with Pastor Timothy Adkins-Jones.

The council consists of nine committees addressing various aspects of the brutal and damaging institution of slavery in New Jersey: History of Slavery in New Jersey, Public Narrative & Memory; Economic Justice; Segregation in New Jersey; Democracy; Public Safety & Justice; Health Equity; Environmental Justice; and Faith and Black Resistance. The committees held two- to three-hour virtual sessions during most of those two years to discuss their findings and hear public comments before putting together the report.

Brutus commended the committee for its efforts that led to the report.

“For the public to see all their hard work is really exciting, and for people to learn about the relationship between slavery in New Jersey and its role in impacting and shaping New Jersey,” Brutus said, pointing out that New Jersey was the last Northern state to abolish slavery in 1866.

For more information, visit njreparationscouncil.org. To register for tickets visit njpac.org.

Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com

Twitter/X: @ricardokaul