MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the Montclair Public Library. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.
On Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m., the Montclair Public Library will present “NJ Reparations 101: A Panel Discussion,” which will address the basics of reparations for Black Americans in New Jersey, the last Northern state to abolish slavery. What are reparations? What would they look like? Why New Jersey? Why now?
The program is co-presented by The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, The Universalist Unitarian Congregation at Montclair and NAACP Montclair. The program is free but registration is required. Register to attend at adultschool.org.
“The library aims to be a place where our community can explore the difficult questions of our time,” says Library Director Janet Torsney. “We’re honored to host an extraordinary group of people to discuss this important topic.”
Speakers include:
- Jean-Pierre Brutus, Esq. is a senior counsel in the Economic Justice Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. He leads the Institute’s reparations advocacy. He was a member of the Reparations Narrative Lab and represented the Institute as a community fellow on the Rutgers- Newark Crafting Democratic Futures Project on community dialogues on reparations.
- Dionne Ford (Moderator) is the author of “Go Back and Get It: A Memoir of Race, Inheritance, and Intergenerational Healing” and the co-editor of “Slavery’s Descendants: Shared Legacies of Race and Reconciliation.”
- Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael is one of the ministers at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair. Central to Rev. Anya’s current ministry is the honest confrontation and engagement with conflict necessary to dismantle white supremacy, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia and sexism.
- Sean Spiller serves as mayor of Montclair and was involved in Montclair’s 2022 endorsement of the New Jersey Reparations Task Force bill.
Co-sponsors include:
- The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice advocates for economic justice, criminal justice reform, and democracy and justice for communities of color across the state. The Institute has convened the New Jersey Reparations Council, the first-of-its-kind commission to finally confront and repair New Jersey’s deep and often overlooked involvement in slavery and its lasting impact on the contemporary life of Black people in the state. Co-chaired by Taja-Nia Henderson of Rutgers Law School and Khalil Gibran Muhammad of Harvard’s Kennedy School, the NJ Reparations Council has engaged leading experts from various disciplines to conduct a two-year, intensive study of the impact of slavery across New Jersey.
- The Unitarian Universalist Undoing Racism Team is a long-standing committee of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair whose goal is to work with their congregation and the wider community to develop, strengthen and act upon anti-racist, multicultural perspectives through worship services, educational programs, lectures, book and film discussions, other cultural events, and community involvement.
The NAACP Montclair was founded in 1916 to oppose segregated schools, disparity in the workplace and healthcare, and as a strong voice against the lack of fair and affordable housing which had become prevalent throughout the town. They take action and provide educational opportunities for the greater Montclair community on such topics as rent control, economic development and health care.
Founded in 1893, the Montclair Public Library serves the residents of Montclair, New Jersey. It has two facilities: the Main Library at 50 S. Fullerton Avenue and the Bellevue Avenue Branch Library at 185 Bellevue Avenue. The Library has been changing lives every day for over 125 years through words, ideas, and community building by providing unlimited opportunities for lifelong learning, discovery, and community engagement.
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