New Jersey

N.J. Reparations Council to tackle environmental justice

Published

1 year ago

October 3, 2024

N.J. Reparations Council to tackle environmental justice

Perth Amboy marker details history of slavery in N.J. This marker near the city’s historic Ferry Slip notes that near the site enslaved Africans disembarked in Perth Amboy, one of the main ports in eastern New Jersey at that time. Perth Amboy was designated a “Site of Memory” by the UNESCO Slave Route Project in 2019.

(Ande Richards/Ande Richards)

New Jersey’s Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ) will continue to examine the state’s history of slavery and its impact on Black New Jerseyans.

The two-year-long probe by the Institute’s Reparations Council will study New Jersey’s history and connection to its current racial landscape, making strategic recommendations for reparative justice policies in New Jersey.

On Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m., the Reparations Council’s Environmental Justice Committee will present its findings on the effects of environmentally racist policies during the Institute’s seventh public session.

Strategic communications and branding consultant Nicole Miller is a member of the Environmental Justice Committee. She says her interest in the environment comes from bringing sustainable solutions to small local businesses, religious organizations, elected officials and community groups at her firm, MnM Consulting.

“New Jersey has long profited from both the exploitation and neglect of Black communities, dating back to its active and horrific involvement in the slave trade,” Miller said. “Our committee has been focused on identifying the specific policies and practices that have harmed Black residents, particularly through environmental factors like poor air and water quality, as well as exposure to toxins like lead and dioxin.”

She added, “These [poisons] have led to higher rates of serious health issues, including cancer and asthma, along with socio-economic challenges stemming from neurological and behavioral disorders. Ideally, reparations in New Jersey will directly address these harms by fixing the economic and political structures relying on urban communities to be environmental sacrifice zones for the wealth of the region.”

Institute officials say they want to learn how environmental policies and actions have affected the economic, social, educational and health aspects of the lives of Black people in New Jersey. They are asking community members to submit testimony in any form — written, video or audio — on the Reparations Council’s website.

Members of the Environmental Justice Committee include educators, activists and public policymakers, including:

Sharif Braxton, community officer New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Melissa Miles, executive director, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance
Nicole Miller, strategic communications and branding consultant, MnM Consulting
Nicky Sheats, director, Center for the Uran Environment, John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research, Kean University
Mia White, assistant professor, Urban and Environmental Studies, The New School

Monday’s meeting will stream live from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Zoom and on the NJISJ’s YouTube channel. Attendees must register to obtain a link to join the Zoom meeting.

To join the session via Zoom and share comments, register here. The committee will hear as many registrants as time allows. Comments will be limited to three minutes.

The Reparations Council will consider input from the public when creating policy recommendations, which will be presented in a final report on Juneteenth 2025.

Read more like this on Mosaic:

NJ reparations council shares key insights after year of in-depth research

‘Investing’ in social justice means different things. N.J.’s civil rights warrior Ryan Haygood explains

Juneteenth rally unites community in fight for reparations

Ande Richards may be reached at arichards@njadvancemedia.com.

Welcome to Mosaic. Follow us on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom and on YouTube at @MosaicNJcom.

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New Jersey

N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop

Published

6 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer, said in a statement on Facebook that she has been briefed about the incident and her office is monitoring the situation.

Pazmino said her organization is calling on members of the community to come together.

“Brown and Black immigrant communities and nonimmigrant communities are welcome, and should be uniting against this force,” she said.

She is also calling on local officials to assist relatives of those taken into custody.

“We need to support families affected by these kidnappings, with mutual aid, donations and anything else you think will help each other,” Pazmino said.

A woman identified as Andrea, while holding her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, tearfully spoke in Spanish about the anguish she feels and her fears about the future without her husband Christian, one of the men taken into custody. A friend, who translated her word into English, said Christian was a good and honest man.

“If he used to see a neighbor carrying something heavy, he would run to help them. If a friend needed a favor, he didn’t ask, he just did it,” she said.

Andrea (left) whose husband, Christian, was taken into custody during a raid on a Trenton auto repair shop, holds her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, while translator Ashley Batz reads her statement in English. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

She said “his daughter was his whole world. He would wake up to her and give her kisses every morning. He would play with her after a long day at work. He loved us and protected us. He didn’t do anything wrong, so why was he taken?”

The Rev. Erich Kussman, St. Bartholomew’s pastor, said the entire Lutheran Church stands with the family.

“Anything you need, you can come to us. I want you to know that. I will stand with you, and we will do what we can to protect you, because that’s the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Standing with ICE is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ, hands down,” he added. “Fifty-one times the scriptures tell us to welcome the immigrant and foreigner as one of our own. If you’re not living true to that gospel, the words of Christ himself, you are not a Christian, no matter what you claim to be.”

With immigration enforcement activity on the rise in New Jersey, lawmakers have proposed several bills to expand protections for immigrant communities. One measure called the “Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act” would allow individuals to file a lawsuit against ICE agents who violate their constitutional rights.

Asma Elhuni speaking at a podium — Asma Elhuni, an organizer with Resistencia En Acción NJ speaks at a press conference at St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church in Trenton, joined by pastor Erich Kussman. The group was responding to the detention of three workers at Agudo’s Repair Shop on Feb. 20, 2026. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Another proposed bill would require any business that operates a private prison or detention facility in the state to pay a tax equal to 50% of the taxpayer’s gross receipts derived from the operation of the facility during the previous year. The bill also stipulates all revenues generated would go to an “immigration protection fund.”

Recently proposed legislation would prohibit ICE agents from ever holding a public job in the Garden State, and New Jersey U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim are proposing legislation to prevent new funding for the Department of Homeland Security from being used to purchase a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey.

Requests for comment from ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service were not immediately returned.

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New Jersey

Spring’s coming; Sunny, warm Saturday and significant warm-up ahead NJ

Published

18 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Spring’s coming; Sunny, warm Saturday and significant warm-up ahead NJ

A brief respite from cold weather is ahead of New Jersey this weekend, before temperatures continue to rise late next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Saturday, Feb. 28 will be sunny across the Garden State, and temperatures will be comfortable, reaching the high 40s and low 50s.

Then, a brief artic cold front is expected to move into the region late on Saturday night, bringing temps to low 30’s and some scattered snow showers on Sunday, especially in North Jersey.

During the week, a couple low pressure systems are in the NWS forecast. Little snow if any is expected from these systems, especially in the late week, when a significant warm-up is expected.

Asbury Park and Monmouth County weekend weather forecast

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.

Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Sunday: Partly sunny and a chance of snow before 1 p.m. The high should be near 39. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.

Wildwoods and Atlantic County weather forecast

Saturday: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 56.

Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.

Sunday: Partly sunny and a slight chance of rain before 1 p.m. The high should be near 44. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.