NEWARK MAYOR RAS J. BARAKA TO SPEARHEAD "POWER POLITICS & COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT SUMMIT" JUNE 10-11
buzzz worthy. . .
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Mayor Baraka's 2016 State of the City Address
(NEWARK, NJ) - April 21, 2016 - Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka will host the inaugural "Power, Politics & Community Reinvestment Summit" on June 10-11, 2016 at the Robert Treat Hotel (50 Park Place, Newark NJ 07102).
This two-day, closed door, invitation-only event will feature a series of roundtable discussions with top political thought-leaders, activists, community organizers and social influencers who will produce solutions to various issues facing the African American community. The Summit will focus on the following topics:
- Urban Marshall Plan - Setting an agenda for education reform and exploring avenues to combat five decades of poverty and unemployment.
- Closing the Wealth Gap - Technology and new paradigms in economic innovation
- Black Lives Matter - Combating criminalization, mass incarceration and the killing of black men and women.
- Arts & Culture - Examining the perennial question: does art imitate life or does life imitate art?
- Coming Together - How to achieve unity among different communities for a common objective.
Confirmed participants include author/scholar Jelani Cobb, Pastor Jamal Bryant (Empowerment Temple, Baltimore MD), Umi Selah (formerly Phillip Agnew, Dream Defenders), Dante Barry(Million Hoodies for Justice), Lennox Yearwood (president, Hip Hop Caucus), Khalil Muhammad(Schomburg Center), Charles Smith (Retired NBA Player & Entrepreneur), Angela Benton(NewMe Accelerator), Pastor Michael McBride (Director Urban Strategies And Lifelines To Healing) and Rahiel Tesfamariam (Founder, Urban Cusp).
"We live in severe times which calls for swift action," says Mayor Baraka. "I'm calling this meeting of the minds to leverage the genius from the experts, leaders and strategists within our community. I firmly believe that together we can bring about the necessary change to heal our nation."
Often referred to as "the people's mayor," Baraka has an extensive track record in advocating for citizen rights and addressing the needs of the community. He's fought for police reform in Newark, created a Department of Public Safety, supported a $15 an hour wage increase for airport workers and recently settled with UBER to allow them to operate in the city while protecting the business interests of the taxi and limousine industry.
