Press Room

 

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Press Clippings

 

Councilman Pushes for 'Ban the Box' Legislation in Newark

November 22, 2011

By Joshua Wilwohl

Newark Councilman Ronald C. Rice wants ex-offenders treated equally among candidates applying for city jobs. 

Rice said he will propose legislation next month before city council that would ban municipal employment applications from asking about criminal history, "I want to be able to allow a person to give an explanation about their criminal history." 

The councilman joined roughly 20 Newark residents Monday afternoon for a public hearing about the measure. The legislation is part of a nationwide campaign called "Ban the Box," referring to the box applicants check when asked if they've been convicted of a crime.

So far, 24 U.S. cities, including Boston and San Francisco, and three U.S. counties have "banned the box," according to the National Employment Law Project.

In Newark, Rice's ordinance is co-sponsored by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

"For people who have served their debt to society, this is an opportunity for them to get employment," said Scott Nolen, communications director of the institute, before the hearing.

Rice said "Ban the Box" is a procedural law that limits asking about criminal history on initial job applications — it does not prevent employers from conducting background checks.

Julien Neals, Newark's business administrator, said the Mayor Cory Booker administration supports the ordinance, "This can empower Newarkers and it's very germane to a number of the population."

In the past, Booker has been a fan of programs that benefit ex-offenders, going as far as posting YouTube videos, explaining job initiatives for people previously incarcerated. The city also has its own prisoner re-entry program. Booker was unavailable for comment.

Data from a 2009 prisoner re-entry study, conducted by the Manhattan Institute, showed roughly a quarter of Newark's 280,000 residents "have, at one time or another, been 'involved' with the criminal justice system." 

Some 1,700 ex-offenders return to the city from state prison each year and another 1,400 return from Essex County jail each month, according to the data.

It's unclear if those numbers have changed in the past two years, but Nolen said his organization is conducting a study on criminal history and employment in Newark, which is expected to be released next spring.

During the hour-long hearing, Rice heard from Newark residents who support the ordinance. None opposed.

Nicole Singletary, 33, told the councilman she has a friend with a criminal history who applied for a job in Newark and was rejected, "Everyone should be able to have the same opportunity."

 

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Black and Jewish in Newark

January 19, 2011

Newark’s Congregation Ahavas Sholom marked the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with a keynote address Sunday on King and Heschel by Rabbi Capers Funnye, who has become the nation’s most prominent African-American rabbi in part thanks to the fact that he’s Michelle Obama’s first cousin, once-removed.

But it’s not just the Obama connection that distinguishes Funnye: Among the black Jewish leaders of the Hebrew Israelite movement, Funnye has been the most prominent in building a bridge between his movement and Judaism’s white mainstream.

Sunday’s event stood at the juncture between two worlds, and maybe more. Ahavas Sholom is Newark’s last functioning synagogue, after its one mighty Jewish population migrated and then fled west from the 1950s on.

Congregants, nearly all of whom commute from the suburbs, are driven to keep at least one small ember of the city’s fabled Jewish community burning, and to build connections between two communities –  black and Jewish — strictly segregated by geography and socio-economics.

All of which makes for fascinating optics: A bimah at which sat Newark’s black power-brokers, including  City Council President Donald Payne Jr., former council presdient Mildred Crump, and the veteran lawyer and civil rights activist Junius Williams. The big crowd, meanwhile, which spilled over into the Clinton Memorial AME Zion Church next door, was a mix of older white suburbanites, Ahavas Sholom’s own diverse congregation, and black church-goers from the city.

Funnye himself preached in the cadences of the black church, quoting both Heschel and King, working himself into a sweat and allowing his voice to swing from a low quiet baritone to a shout. At the climax, he repeated the phrase “What would Martin say,” and listed contemporary evils like anti-Semitism, Islamic terror, Islamophobia, the suffering in Haiti.

 ”We must become one people for truth, for justice, for righteousness, for all people,” he said, before reciting the Priestly Blessing in Hebrew and English.

 Blacks in the audience responded with “Yes,” and “Amen,” and emphatic “Uh-huhs.” The Jews applauded politely. Folks sitting behind me were themselves black Jews, reciting the Hebrew along with Rabbi Funnye.

It was beautiful stuff, and world’s removed from the typical sermon in the typical synagogue, and an easy mixing of black and Jews you’ll see in no other house of worship or  — well, almost anywhere, actually. Just like the Ahavas Sholom project itself, it was beautiful and a little sad, highlighting the absence of the very thing it sought to celebrate.

Yes, the Jewish community is becoming more diverse, thanks to conversion, adoptions, and mixed marriages, among other things. Funnye himself is a principal at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research in San Francisco, the late Gary Tobin’s effort to promote diversity within Jewish life. And there are a number of Jews who remain deeply invested in Newark, working in the schools, at the universities, in politics, and community organizing.

But many at the event acknowledged the deep divide between city and suburb. In the panel discussion that followed Funnye’s remarks, Cornell Brooks of the NJ Institute for Social Justice noted that NJ is among the most segregated states in the country, and spoke of the social costs when people “don’t live near one another, don’t shop at the same grocery stores, or send their kids to the same schools.” Absent these interactions, he said, “opportunities for ethical and moral dialogue are diminished.” We forget “the degree to which we are indebted to one another.”

Rutgers historian Clement Price also spoke about the “racially Balkanized” state, and “the policies intended to separate us. We’re paying dearly for that now.” 

Sunday wasn’t a day for discussing political solutions, but Price did speak of one way blacks and Jews can reach across the chasm. Earlier in the program, Payne talked about swimming at the High Street YMHA as a kid. “We need to keep our memories alive. Earlier Donald Payne spoke about swimming in a Jewish space,” said Price. “We need to remember a time when this city was cross-fertilized in it public schools , when its communities were remarkably safe and sound.” He remembered Newark as a “strivers’ row, where everybody was trying to move up.” Price proposed the appointment of a Deputy Mayor of Memory, who would be in charge of recalling this “cacophony of people “and fight the “amnesia.”

 

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N.J. broadcasting authority approves $2.1M budget for NJN

Friday, January 14, 2011

 

TRENTON — Members of a re-constituted board of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority met for the first time today and approved a three-month budget for New Jersey Network that includes $2.1 million in new state aid.

During an hour-long meeting at the NJN offices in Trenton, the five members elected State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff as chairman and Cornell William Brooks, executive director of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, as vice chairman. The other members are attorneys John Inglesino and Anthony Della Pelle and New Jersey AFL-CIO official Eric Richards.

After taking their oaths, the members approved a $3.4-million spending plan that extends NJN’s operations through March 31. Sidamon-Eristoff said he expects the state to have a new partner in place by April 1 to run the network, originally created in 1961.

"We should be able to get the process completed in 90 days," he said. "That’s what we’re driving for. Otherwise we have to go back to the treasurer and ask for more money."

Sidamon-Eristoff said his office has hired a financial consultant, Public Radio Capital of Colorado, to help it draft a request for proposals for the operation of the network’s television and radio stations. After the meeting, he said no decisions have been made about whether to separate the radio and television operations, or whether to hand over the network to one entity or to a group.

Today's session is the latest step in the government’s efforts to spin off NJN into a private, non-profit operation. In his budget address last March, Gov. Chris Christie called for the state to get out of the television business and find a suitable private corporation to operate the public radio and television network without taxpayer subsidy.

The governor originally set a deadline of Jan. 1 for the split, and included only $2 million, or half of the previous year’s state grant, in this year’s budget.

A Legislative Task Force held three public hearings in the fall and agreed with the governor that a state-run entity was no longer an option. But it also concluded that more time was needed to find an appropriate successor. Christie and lawmakers agreed on a compromise that included additional funding to take the network into the new year.

The law signed by Christie last month gave the governor the right to appoint three members to the new board and he chose Sidamon-Eristoff, Inglesino and Della Pelle. Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) appointed Richard, the legislative affairs coordinator for the NJ AFL-CIO, and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) appointed Brooks, who is the former senior counsel for the Federal Communication Commission.

The board will negotiate a deal on behalf of the state. It will present its proposal to the Legislature, which has 15 days to nix it.

The budget accepted today includes $2.1 million in state funds and $1.3 million in revenue from the lottery and various leases already in place at NJN. It includes no funding from the New Jersey Network Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the network. The largest expense is $2.3 million in salaries and wages for its employees.

After approving the budget, the members spent 30 minutes in a closed door executive session to discuss legal issues. The board adjourned without setting a date for the next meeting.

 

 

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Senior Counsel and Policy Director for the NJ Institute for Social Justice, Craig Levine, visits Horace Mann

12/08/2010

On December 2nd, Craig Levine, Senior Counsel and Policy Director for the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, visited HM.  His visit is part of the Center for Community Values and Action's collaboration with the Yale Alumni Association of Metropolitan New York, Public Service/Social Justice Committee (YAAMNY PS/SJC).  We worked together last year on HM’s All-School Service-Learning Day (Yale's Day of Service), and we are continuing and expanding our collaboration this year.  Karin Weiner of the Yale group also attended and participated in the day’s presentations

 

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NJISJ 2009 GALA PRESS CLIPS

On Wednesday, June 10th, 2009, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice held its fourth annual Awards Gala and celebrated its 10th year anniversary. This year's gala drew 320 people. The four honorees were: Dr. Robert Curvin, distinguished fellow at Rutgers University, David Kerr, founder and president of Integrity House, Al Koeppe, president and CEO of the Newark Alliance and the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, accepted by Bob Frank.

Following is all the media coverage surrounding this very special Gala event. 

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice gala honors decade of accomplishments

by Jamie Duffy/For the Star-Ledger

Friday, June 12, 2009

Institute of Social Justice honors Newark leaders at gala

by newjerseynewsroom.com

Sunday, 14, June 2009

Bob Franks accepts award on behalf of HealthCare Institute of New Jersey

by Somerset Reporter

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Integrity House founder receives Builder Award

by Glen Ridge Voice

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Short Hills lawyer chairs Social Justice Gala 

by Independent Press

Saturday June 27, 2009

 

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EPA awards Brownfields 2009 Grant to NJISJ

January 19, 2009

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields.

EPA has selected the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ) for a job training grant. NJISJ plans to train 87 students, place at least 53 graduates in environmental technician jobs, and track students for one year. The training program will consist of four, 100-hour training cycles that include coursework in HAZWOPER, lead abatement, asbestos removal, OSHA health and safety, and brownfields issues. A minimum of three certifications will be offered. The primary trainer will be Essex County College. Students will be recruited from unemployed and underemployed city residents, with priority given to returning citizens. NJISJ will work with the Workforce Investment Board and Essex County Building Trades Council to place graduates in environmental jobs.

Brownfields 2009 Grant Fact Sheet

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Program to help N.J. drivers get suspended licenses restored
Posted by Ralph R. Ortega/The Star-Ledger/February 23, 2009

New Jersey drivers with suspended licenses can receive free help to getting their privileges restored. A "Full Speed Ahead" driver's license restoration fair at Essex County College on Tuesday will provide tips that can help state residents in getting their suspensions lifted, according to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a Newark-based research and advocacy organization hosting the event with several co-sponsors. To read the full article, click here.

 

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Prison system in need of correction
By Jeffrey C. Mays/The Star-Ledger/Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sponsored by Assembly Majority leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer), the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and the Second Chance Campaign of New Jersey, the third of nine expected hearings was held at Rutgers-Newark last week. To read the full article, click here.

 

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Filmmaker looks at 'human side' of gangs
By Carrie Stetler/The Star-Ledger/Saturday October 25, 2008

To outsiders, they're Bloods and Crips. But to Akintola Hanif, they're the protective older cousins he visited in Essex County every summer as a middle-class boy from Brooklyn. To read the full article, click here.

 

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Democracy Works: Making Prisoner Reentry Work
NJ Caucus on Prisoner Reentry - NJN
Saturday, November 1, 2008

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice's Executive Director, Cornell Brooks, participated in this half-hour panel discussion, hosted by NJN.

The program looks at the personal and legal obstacles facing ex-offenders as they reenter society and what needs to be done to help ensure that process is met with success. The panel discusses issues such as finding work, getting skills, overcoming drug and health problems, dealing with the stigma of imprisonment, and reuniting with family, children, and friends. Further, the panel considers what programs or initiatives are working to help ex-offenders transition and reduce recidivism rates, as well as which programs are not helping.

Click here to watch the program.

 

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Newark dons a 'green collar' with construction training program
By Ralph R. Ortega/The Star-Ledger Staff/Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Newark contractors learn to be 'green' by completing a six-week training program that focuses on improving environmental quality and reducing waste. The training program was sponsored by the city, Laborers' International Union of North America and Garden State Alliance for a New Economy.

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John Edwards calls for N.J. minimum wage hike during Newark stop
By Brian T. Murray/The Star-Ledger/Friday July 11, 2008

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards joined NJISJ, New Jersey Policy Perspective and the national Raise the Wage Campaign in urging New Jersey to raise its $7.15-per-hour minimum wage to $8.25 -per hour. The rate ranks behind 13 other states and Washington, D.C., but matches New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

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Press Releases

 

EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENTS AT THE NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

January  2011

NJISJ announces three new Board Members, the beginning of two Workforce Development Programs and the rejoining of Rick Greenberg.

LICENSE REINSTATEMENT FAIR: FULL SPEED AHEAD PRESS RELEASE
February 2009

On February 24th, 2009, the Institute, along with many other organizations, held a License Reinstatement Fair at the Essex County College to help some 300 NJ residents reinstate their suspended driver licenses.

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MORAL PANIC PRESS RELEASE
May 2008

MORAL PANIC is the Institute's first film that brings together the voices of policymakers, law enforcement, community-based activists, faith leaders, educators, researchers, and gang members themselves, who explain their own motivations, aspirations, and challenges. The 30-minute film features original interviews with Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy, among many others.

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"HOUSE RICH, POCKET POOR" PRESS RELEASE
August 2006
Press release for "House Rich, Pocket Poor and Under Threat," NJISJ's home repair white paper.
By Yahonnes Cleary, NJISJ

 

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