In response to Gov. Phil Murphy’s “2023 State of the State Address” delivered on Jan. 10, the Black, faith-rooted organization Salvation and Social Justice (SandSJ) has issued its own policy agenda for 2023 through 2024. SandSJ says they want to propose public policy solutions based on Black faith and its orientation toward social justice. SandSJ’s policy proposals, available on their website at https://www.sandsj.org/policy, states that the problem is that “New Jersey continues to lead with some of the highest racial disparities in the country. In New Jersey, Black residents are incarcerated at a rate of 12.5 times that of white residents. Black people make up just 15% of the population in the state yet they represent 43% of the arrests for drug violations despite the fact that there is no evidence that Blacks use drugs at a higher rate than whites. New Jersey has the fourth highest maternal mortality rate in the nation with Black women being seven times more likely than white women to die before or after they have given birth, and Black babies are three times more likely to die than white babies before reaching their first birthday. New Jersey’s schools are the 6th most segregated in the nation and the most segregated in the North, adversely affecting scores of Black children subjecting them to disparate conditions such as overcrowding, insufficiently staffed schools and limited access to resources and opportunities.” SandSJ can be reached via email at info@sandsj.org or by phone at 609-37-BLACK.
Salvation and Social Justice issues 2023 policy agenda
