Rev. Dr. Charles F. Boyer and members of his Salvation and Social Justice team held a post-election strategy call on Monday, Nov. 10, for more than 140 Black church and faith community leaders. The meeting took place just six days after Mikie Sherrill’s decisive victory in the New Jersey gubernatorial race.
The call was a chance to celebrate, take a breather after months of organizing, reassess, and start planning for what comes next.
“Let me just say, sisters and brothers, that I am personally overjoyed and indebted to all of you on this call and many more who heard thoroughly, I think, the clarion call to make sure that the encroachment of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement did not make its way to State Street,” Rev. Boyer said at the start of the video call. “One thing that I think was largely a common theme amongst all of us was that the safety and the well-being of our people was paramount. And we certainly needed to activate the Black faith community in terms of what the work and the assignment was.”
Sherrill’s double-digit victory over Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli can be largely credited to the Black vote, Rev. Derrick L. Green, founder of the Interfaith Action Movement, asserted during the call. The coalition, which supported former President Joe Biden in New Jersey, also strongly backed current Gov. Phil Murphy. In both 2017 and 2021, Murphy won some 94% of the Black vote. Even when support from Latino and other demographic groups waned in 2021, dropping into the 50s, Murphy’s continued reliance on Black voters was key in securing his narrow three-point victory, Green noted.
Green pointed to the following breakdown of Sherrill’s support: “Forty-seven percent of the white community in New Jersey gave their vote to Mikey Sherrill. She got 93.5% of the Black vote. And here’s the great stat: The other minority groups gave her about 70% of their vote. That’s how she was able to get the 12, 13-point lead.”
The Black faith community remains a powerful force in shaping policy today, Green added. Endorsements from over 200 Black ministers supporting candidates like Mikey Sherrill and Dale Caldwell helped reach approximately 300,000 constituents.
This analysis was supported by the Associated Press Voter Poll, which surveyed over 4,000 voters in New Jersey and found that Sherrill did well among nonwhite voters, winning roughly 7 out of 10 of them. Despite Trump making inroads with the Black and Hispanic communities in the previous election — reducing the Democratic victory in New Jersey from a 16-point margin in 2020 to just six percentage points — the Biden coalition, which Green says came together because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, held firm to secure the governorship for Sherrill.
With the understanding that the Black vote played a pivotal role, the SandSJ urged faith leaders to maintain momentum by staying connected with state representatives on key policies.
The organization listed several legislative priorities, such as advocating for legislation that strengthens police accountability, supporting a restorative justice bill that provides incarcerated elders an opportunity for resentencing and reunification with their families, addressing disparities in Black maternal healthcare outcomes, and securing state funding to create more Freedom Schools across New Jersey.
This is such a disappointment, as always.