Newark Mayor Ras Baraka promised to hold elected officials accountable to the Black Agenda at Second Baptist Church in Long Branch, New Jersey, July 26, 2025. (Kenneth Miles/WHYY)
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Hundreds of attendees packed Second Baptist Church in Long Branch, New Jersey, on Saturday night for the second Statewide Meeting for the Black Agenda.
Organized under the leadership of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, featured speakers included U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, Terence T. Dunlap Sr., pastor of Second Baptist Church, and Rev. Charles Boyer, founder of Salvation and Social Justice. Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton and Richard T. Smith, president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference, addressed the gathering via a prerecorded video. There was a heavy police presence outside the event.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how to build momentum to advance a collective agenda that will benefit the more than 1 million Black residents of New Jersey, who comprise approximately 12.4% of the state’s population.
“Hosting the Black Agenda meeting at Second Baptist Church is both an honor and a responsibility,” said Dunlap Sr. in a statement to WHYY News. “This moment is bigger than a gathering; it’s a movement. Our church has always stood at the intersection of faith and justice, and we are proud to serve as a sacred space where voices are elevated, strategies are birthed, and the future of our communities is shaped.”
Event organizers have been tight-lipped about the meeting details and declined to share future plans. But many advocates say the work is needed. Jane Collins-Coding, chair and co-founder of the Black Empowerment Coalition, said these gatherings help to correct oversight.
“A statewide Black Agenda is essential because it ensures that the specific needs, priorities, and voices of Black communities are recognized and addressed at every level of government. Too often, Black communities have been underrepresented in policymaking and overlooked in the distribution of resources and opportunities,” she said in a written statement to WHYY News.
Tinu Joseph, a youth community activist from Essex County, New Jersey, said she wished more young people were present at the event.
“I don’t know if they are meeting people where they are,” she said of the event organizers. “I feel like it’s two different worlds. If you are not in the know or already affiliated with a church or institute, you’re not going to know about these events.”
Joseph suggested organizers consider tapping into sororities and fraternities and being amongst “the masses” to help reach a younger demographic. “That might mean going out to different parties,” she said.
“I hope to hear some of what some of the Democrats are going to do to combat the big, ugly bill,” said Asbury Park resident Daryl Newman. Newman said he heard about the event from a friend.
The first summit took place in Trenton, New Jersey, in June at the Greater Mount Zion AME Church. It featured 400 attendees in a standing-room-only sanctuary; some said they left the first meeting without an agenda.
Baraka, a gubernatorial hopeful who lost to Rep. Mikie Sherrill in June’s Democratic primary, was one of the event’s organizers alongside other Black state leaders, ensuring the next governor and other elected officials of New Jersey are clear on the state’s Black residents’ policy needs before they are voted into office in November. Some demands include:
Organizers of the event Saturday stated that they intend “to hold elected officials and candidates accountable to a unified Black Agenda — not with endorsements, but with a commitment to the needs of our Black communities.”
WHYY News is partnering with independent journalists across New Jersey to spotlight the people, communities, cultures, and distinctive places that shape the Garden State. This work is made possible with support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
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