MORRIS COUNTY — The League of Women Voters of the Morristown Area is hosting a frank discussion on the subject of Reparations on Monday, February 13, at 7:00 p.m. at the Morris County Library, 30 East Hanover Avenue, Whippany. The program is co-sponsored by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Morristown Alumnae Chapter, and Black Lives Matter Morristown.
Jean-Pierre Brutus, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, will help us navigate the mis- and dis- information associated with the word “reparations” and what it means for New Jersey. Along with over 30 partners, including LWVNJ, the Institute launched the Say the Word: Reparations campaign to get pending legislation (A938/S386) passed to establish a state Reparations Task Force in New Jersey.
The campaign is entitled “Say the Word” to focus attention specifically on the legacy of slavery in New Jersey, which has been called the “slave state of the North.”
The task force would allow esteemed experts throughout the state to study the history of slavery in New Jersey and its aftermath and provide strategic policy recommendations for reparative justice.
Assatta Mann, League of Women Voters of New Jersey, will moderate.
Jean-Pierre Brutus is a senior counsel in the Economic Justice Program at the NJ Institute for Social Justice. He leads the Institute’s reparations and housing advocacy. Before joining the Institute, Jean-Pierre worked at Legal Services NYC, representing indigent Bronx tenants facing eviction. Jean-Pierre is a graduate of Georgetown University. He earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies and JD from Northwestern University.
Assatta Mann is a Community Organizer for the League of Women Voters of NJ. She focuses on mobilizing League members, volunteers, and community partners around an organizing strategy that builds lasting power to secure legislative and policy wins. A lifelong resident of the city of Passaic, Assatta earned a degree in Political Science from Rutgers University – Newark. Before joining the League, Assatta worked on electoral campaigns where she focused on forming powerful coalitions between grassroots community organizations and turning out key voting constituencies.
Free and open to the public. For more information, click here.
