Poverty in New Jersey
The correlation between poverty and race is undeniable; both statistics and life experiences confirm the connection. Communities of color, especially Black and Hispanic communities, experience much higher rates of income shortfalls than the population categorized as White Non-Hispanic. These trends hold true in New Jersey as they do across the country. While different people react differently to these trends, the existence of the connection is contested seldom. It is much more controversial to claim that racism is a primary cause of high rates of poverty among communities of color. That is just the claim made in a report, The Uncomfortable Truth: Racism, Injustice, and Poverty in New Jersey, released by the Anti-Poverty Network of NJ late last year. During this workshop, advocates and experts who drafted the report will review the findings and solutions recommended, as well as discuss next steps on moving towards an end to structural racism in New Jersey.
Moderator: Renee Koubiadis, Steering Committee Member, Latino Action Network
Panelists: Dr. Natasha James Waldon, Director of Educational Services, Jewish Renaissance Foundation
Johanna Calle, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
Environmental Justice and Climate Change: Our Communities are the Frontline
Throughout the U.S., communities of Color and low-income communities are overburdened with environmental pollution from historic and ongoing sources. Latino communities in New Jersey are no exception, with many of our people living at the frontline of hazardous and polluting facilities. Latinx workers are present in large numbers in jobs that expose them to high levels of pollution, from the use of toxic substances in the workplace to diesel emissions at Port Newark and related facilities. The city of Newark has an asthma rate of 25 %, while the NJ statewide average is 12%. The same greenhouse gasses that are warming the planet are making us sick.
Climate change is at the root of the disastrous storms we are experiencing with increasing frequency. Efforts at controlling climate change are closely related to cutting down on fossil fuels, yet few people understand the link. New Jersey is about to re-enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), an agreement among 10 eastern states that purports to regulate carbon emissions from fossil fuel use. What should we be saying to a new governor about environmental measures to protect our community’s health? What are options that could lead to a sounder, regenerative approach to the current crisis?
Moderator: Cynthia Mellon, Steering Committee Member, Latino Action Network
Panelists: Michael Molina, Resiliency Coordinator, Ironbound Community Corporation
Isella Ramirez, Urban Planner, Hester Street Collaborative
Latino Youth Activism
This workshop will focus on the importance of organizational sustainability, infusion and succession planning. What will our future look like 10 years from today? We will discuss strategies needed to help current organizational leaders in the development of strategically planning the incorporation of youth members in their overall strategies. A brief discussion of the impact we have the opportunity of making on others coming behind us. The younger generation is hungry for history, leadership and most importantly guidance in areas to succeed in their future roles in their respective communities. The workshop will attempt to provide a venue for the participants to express how they see their role in future political, community and organizational activism in the 21st century.
Moderator: Carlos Hendricks, Steering Committee Member, Latino Action Network
Panelists: Jose Gonzalez, Student Development Specialist, Passaic County Community
College
Jovannie Lorenzo, Marketing and Development Manager, Boys and Girls Club
of Paterson and Passaic
Deiby Martinez, Executive Director, Paterson Community Action
Criminal Justice
Experts and advocates will discuss topics ranging from past to current New Jersey Legislative initiatives, Community/Law Enforcement Initiatives and personal testimony of the challenges of reintegration after long term incarceration, the good and the bad. An open and inclusive discussion on the incredible challenges we face to protect and further the successes we have achieved over the last two decades and how to collectively continue to reform the New Jersey Criminal Justices system in in 2018 and beyond.
Moderator: Cuqui Rivera, Criminal Justice Reform Committee Chair, LAN
Panelists: Juan Cartagena, President and Counsel, Latino Justice PRLDEF
Antonio Hernandez, National President, National Coalition of Latino Officers
Luis Del Orbe, CEO and Founder of DOrb Inc. “Helping Young Adults Become
World Ready
Immigration
The expectations are high that the state legislature will pass legislation to help undocumented families as New Jersey now has a governor that has promised to take action on immigration. Join our panelists as they discuss current campaigns, such as the push for Driver’s Licenses, as well as updates on TPS and DACA.
Moderator: Rudy Rodas, Esq.
Panelists: Johanna Calle, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
Cesar Martin Estela, Esq., Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
Erika J. Nava, New Jersey Policy Perspective
Workers’ Rights
New Jersey is one of just a handful of states positioned to advance workers’ rights and enact a progressive vision for the future of work. While Governor Murphy has signaled his strong support for legislation that promote justice at work (e.g. a $15 minimum wage, paid sick days for all, equal pay for equal work, and advancing workers’ rights to organize), this panel will discuss how traditional marginalized groups may lose out on the benefits of these policies, if state legislators fail to hold the line against carve outs demanded by business and industry groups.
Moderator: Craig Garcia, Steering Committee Member, Latino Action Network
Panelists: Louis Di Paolo, New Jersey Working Families Alliance
Brandon McKoy, New Jersey Policy Perspective
Political Empowerment and Voting Rights
The Latino Empowerment workshop will discuss ways in which community members can gain and keep political power. The panel will highlight a number of topics including Recognizing current statistical trends as tools for empowering Latinos; identifying self-imposed barriers and the growing role of Latinas in the political system. Moreover, our panel will help us understand what it takes to run a political campaign and win. Today, Latinos face unprecedented negative forces which seek to disempower and separate them from their social and political rights. Therefore, we will discuss how we stay engaged in light of this current political climate. In addition, we will discuss youth participation and activism as a form of ensuring a greater political role for Latinos in our state and beyond.
Moderator: Javier Robles, Latino Action Network, Vice President, Steering Committee
Member
Panelists: Nellie Pou, State Senator, New Jersey 35th Legislative District
Wilda Diaz, Mayor, Perth Amboy, NJ
Anna Carolina Ruiz, Student, POLITICS and Global Public Health, NYU
Housing and Education: The Struggle for Integration,
Moving beyond Mount Laurel and Abbott
New Jersey is often referred to as one of the most segregated states in the nation. Housing and education are the keys to creating a genuinely integrated society in which a person is not judged by the color of their skin, or their ethnicity, or the size of their paycheck but by the content of their character. Earlier civil rights efforts secured important court victories in both the areas of housing and integration. The Mount Laurel decisions have created thousands of affordable units but challenges loom on the horizon. The Abbott decisions created a funding mechanism for underfunded, mostly urban school districts, but decades later our schools remain bastions of segregation. Our panelists, leaders in these two key areas, will discuss initiatives and plans for the future. Where do we go from here?
Moderator: Frank Argote-Freyre, President Emeritus, Latino Action Network
Panelists: Justice Gary Stein, retired Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and Co-founder of the New Jersey Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools
Kevin Walsh, Attorney and Executive Director of the Fair Share Housing Center
Legislative Conference
February 3, 2018
Robert Treat Hotel Conference Center
Newark, New Jersey
Program Schedule
8:00 to 9:00 Registration and Breakfast
9:00 to 10:00 Welcoming Statement and Plenary Session
10:10 to 11:25 Breakout Sessions I
Immigration
Latino Youth Activism
Workers’ Rights
Environmental Justice
11:35 to 12:50 Breakout Sessions II
Political Empowerment
Criminal Justice
Poverty in New Jersey
Housing and Education Segregation
1:00 to 2:30 Lunch and Guest Speaker s – Tri-State Room
Senator Robert Menendez
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman
2:30 to 3:30 Closing Remarks
