Black community leaders in New Jersey expressed cautious optimism that Mikie Sherill, the state’s new governor, will put forth an agenda that benefits the many African American voters who cast ballots for her. Sherril, 54, was sworn in as New Jersey’s 57th governor on January 20. She comes to office as a shining star for the Democratic Party, with a victory that marks the first time since 1961 that any political party has held office for three consecutive terms in the state.
Her notable election during the Trump era also points to voter expectations that she will govern in a way that differs from what’s happening nationally. She won by a decisive 14.4-point margin over the Republican Party candidate, Jack Ciattarelli, a victory powered by a surge in Black voter turnout. While Black residents comprise 12% of the state’s population, 94% of Black voters cast their ballots for the Sherrill ticket, which included Dr. Dale G. Caldwell as her running mate for lieutenant governor. The state’s Black electorate, mostly Democratic Party-affiliated, tends to support progressive policies, and there are high expectations that this administration will serve as a progressive bulwark against national conservative trends.
Rev. Dr. Charles F. Boyer, founder of Salvation and Social Justice, a Trenton-based public policy organization, noted that while the Sherrill-Caldwell administration is only days old, its early signals are promising.
“They’ve given every signal in the world that they’re going to be a good partner,” Rev. Boyer told the Amsterdam News. “We may not agree on everything, but I’m more confident than ever that we’re going to make substantive progress.”
It’s a progress that will be largely defined by Sherrill’s attention to the “NJ Statewide Black Agenda,” a policy framework developed by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Salvation and Social Justice, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ), and a coalition of advocates. Developed through forums, advocacy, and collaboration with Black leaders, the agenda points to key priorities such as housing, restorative justice, and economic equity. These are issues Sherrill committed to when she was trying to gain support for her candidacy while running for office.
Sherrill, a four-term congresswoman and former Navy helicopter pilot, was not the initial choice among most Black community advocates, but her support grew as she promoted an agenda focused on affordability and equity — two issues Black New Jerseyans have prioritized. “After some shifts toward the GOP, voters of color moved back to the Democratic party,” NJ Spotlight News reported last November. “Sherrill won 94% of the Black vote, 68% of Hispanics, and 82% of Asians, according to the exit polls. [Republican Jack] Ciattarelli won 52% of the white vote.”
The “affordability” issue
On her first day in office, Sherrill signed Executive Order No. 1, declaring a state of emergency on utility costs and freezing electricity rate hikes. However, advocates argue that “affordability” for Black New Jerseyans will have to also address the state’s staggering racial wealth gap.
“Now, affordability –– it means different things to different people here in New Jersey, right?” said NJISJ Law & Policy Director Henal Patel, who noted that the state has one of the worst racial wealth gaps in the country. “The lived experience of what it means for it to be affordable here is different for different communities. When the median Black family in New Jersey has a net worth of less than $20,000, being able to afford living here is a day-to-day question. It becomes not just utility costs, but it means can people afford the roofs over their heads, can they afford food and basic needs in a state as expensive as New Jersey is?
“We do think that Gov. Sherrill and her team are recognizing that, but it is going to have to be a big part of this conversation, and part of, not just semantically, but a real part of the policies that this administration is going to be putting forward.”
In its recent survey of “States with the Biggest and Smallest Wealth Gaps by Race,” the website WalletHub also found that “New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states overall, but the data shows that large racial wealth gaps persist beneath the surface. The state ranks 8th nationwide for the biggest wealth gaps, with disparities showing up across income, education, housing and health care. For example, the median household income for Black residents is about 38% below the median for white residents, while Hispanic residents face especially steep challenges in building long-term financial stability.”
Last April, the NJISJ issued its own report, “The Two New Jerseys: The Deepening Divide,” which found that 76.6% of white families in New Jersey own homes, compared to 41.3% of Black families. It also showed that the median net racial wealth gap exceeds $640,000, with the median Black family’s wealth under $20,000, making daily costs a pressing issue.
New Jersey’s Black leaders are urging the Sherrill-Caldwell administration to dedicate its first 100 days to advancing progressive legislation, such as expanding first-time homebuyer programs and repurposing vacant properties to increase affordable housing; tackling the $640,000 gap in median family wealth by introducing initiatives such as “Baby Bonds” and establishing reparations task forces; and working to close the 18-to-1 incarceration disparity between Black and white youth by enacting restorative employment bills and other measures that support youth advocacy.
Boyer said the Sherrill-Caldwell administration should be able to get right to work on these initiatives because the data has already been compiled on these subjects, and there are already plenty of advisors available to assist.
“We don’t need another study; we don’t need to dither around this anymore,” Boyer said. He is calling for an action-oriented working group to sit down with the governor’s team to finalize a package of policies that directly targets the racial wealth gap.
“One of the things that’s always a reality is that a lot of the issues that benefit Black and Brown communities are going to benefit everybody, and that is something that we must recognize,” NJISJ’s Patel said. “There needs to be a recognition that when we have issues that are affecting everyone, … they hit harder for Black and Brown people in the state of New Jersey.”