The Institute empowers Black and other people of color by building reparative systems that build wealth, transform justice and harness democratic power.
The Institute’s advocacy is a model for states as places to build community power from the ground up.
06/03/2026
Special shout out to Nadia Rush, Administrative Director, and Naa’san Carr, Community Organizer, for serving as poll workers for yesterday’s Primary Elections.🗳️
Their dedication and long hours on the ground help ensure that every voice is accounted for and our democracy is protected!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.🧡
06/01/2026
‼️ Attention New Jersey ‼️
Get ready for Primary Election Day tomorrow, 6/2.
Now, more than ever, we need our collective voices to be heard at the polls! Our vote is our power.
06/01/2026
NEWARK - The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice issued the following statement today in response to Newark's Delaney Hall:
The situation at Delaney Hall is abhorrent.
But it has been abhorrent since the day the federal government opened it to warehouse, abuse and deny due process to our immigrant neighbors.
Now that same administration is using the inevitable outrage as justification for amping up their aggression against protestors and against the detainees whose welfare must be at the heart of this matter.
For its part, New Jersey - including law enforcement if it is present - must stand up against ICE and protect the rights of peaceful protestors.
New Jersey's local and state police should not emulate the horrific tactics of ICE. And the state must waste no time to take whatever action is at its disposal to improve conditions at the facility and find a way to finally shut down this stain on our state and our nation.
We stand with our partners who are working day and night to try to make this happen - and with our detained neighbors and their families whose suffering continues to mount with each passing day.
New Jersey, are you ready to talk about reparations?
Jean-Pierre Brutus, Senior Counsel of the Economic Justice Program, shares what to expect during our Juneteenth Reparations Convening on Friday, 6/19 from 8:30am – 4pm in Newark.
This free community event will feature a day filled with powerful panel discussions and workshops including:
✅Panel: Fighting for Truth & Repair: Reparations in NJ and Beyond
✅Keynote Speaker: Dorothy Brown, Getting to Reparations
✅Intimate workshops about economic justice, public safety, environmental justice, democracy and reparative art
✅Special Guest: Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka
🔗Register: https://njisj.org/juneteenth/
05/27/2026
CONTEST UPDATE: We’re extending the deadline for our Truth & Repair Video Contest to July 15 at 11:59pm EDT!
We want to hear what reparations mean to you and your community in a creative 1–2-minute video. Five winners will be selected & win a cash prize of $500 each!
🔗Check out the info session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmVLN2GeZ58
🔗More info about submissions & guidelines: https://njisj.org/videocontest/
❓Questions? Email us at: [email protected]
Most important of all, be creative and have fun!
05/26/2026
NEWARK - The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice issued the following statement today in response to Newark's Delaney Hall:
Delaney Hall is a stain on New Jersey and a stain on the country.
What’s happening inside the facility to our immigrant neighbors is cruel and unconstitutional.
What’s happening outside the facility is also a disgrace.
Congresswoman LaMonica McIver still faces weaponized charges from the DOJ and a potential 17 years in prison for simply showing up to do her job of oversight.
This past weekend, Sen. Andy Kim – also there to perform oversight with other members of NJ’s congressional delegation – was, along with peaceful protestors, pepper-sprayed by DHS agents as he tried to de-escalate tensions.
And Gov. Mikie Sherrill was denied entry to view the conditions.
We proudly stand with the detainees on hunger strike, their friends and families, and the elected officials who are showing up on behalf of all of New Jersey's residents.
There should be no Delaney Hall.
And there definitely should be no Delaney Hall without transparency and oversight.
We will continue to support our immigrant protection partners on the ground, and to fight for a New Jersey where justice and democracy mean something.
05/26/2026
‼️Early voting for New Jersey’s Primary Elections starts today, 5/26 until Sunday, 5/31.‼️
Polls are open Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
To check your early voting poll location, visit Vote.NJ.Gov.
📣Your vote is your power, so exercise your democratic right to vote!
The fight is not over, but we are one big step closer to the democracy we deserve!
A message yesterday from Ryan Hayhood, President & CEO at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, about the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act passing through the Senate Judicial Committee.
☎️We still need your help. Urge the Senate to pass the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act today!
05/22/2026
New Jersey, we’re one step closer to the equitable democracy we truly deserve!🗳️
After four long years of advocating for the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act, today it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee! Everyone that testified and packed the room made it clear that a strong democracy requires that voters of ALL backgrounds and communities have equal access to the polls.
☎️We still need your help! This Memorial Day weekend, call your legislators and urge them to get this bill to desk ready for her signature! We refuse to let our voices be ignored any longer.
Onward!
05/21/2026
When we fight, we win!
The John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee today.
Next up, Senate Budget and Appropriations!