Newark As Model City Initiative — Tuesday, April 3, 2018 the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) convened a National Town Hall dedicated to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Journey for Economic Justice. The focus was on Newark as Model City. Host, Mayor Ras Baraka. Keynote Speaker, Danny Glover.
The Program
Prelude
Excerpts from Dr. King’s Mountaintop Speech
Welcome
- Carmelo Garcia, Acting Deputy Mayor/Director, Dept. of Economic and Housing Development, City of Newark, NJ
Invocation
- Rev. Louise Scott-Rountree, Clergy Affairs Manager, City of Newark, NJ
- Imam Aqeel Mateen, Imam of Masjid Ash Shifaa, President of United Muslim Inc., Newark, NJ
The Occasion
- Dr. Ron Daniels, President, Institute of the Black World 21st Century and Moderator, New York, NY
Acknowledgements
Special Guests, Panelists and Resources Persons for Newark Initiatives
Musical Rendition
Battle Hymn of the Republic
- Professor Sjockier Jackson, Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Newark
Remarks
King’s Journey for Economic Justice: Relevance to Black America Today
- Nataki Kambon, Co-Founder, Let’s Buy Black 365, Senior Consultant, Nu Business Solutions, Washington, DC
- Ron Busby, President/CEO, U.S. Black Chambers, Washington, DC
Musical Rendition
The Impossible Dream
- Evangelist Ruby Annette Evans, Provenance Music Group, Newark, NJ
Keynote Remarks
The Unfinished Work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
- Danny Glover, Actor, Activist, U.N. Ambassador, Decade for People of African descent, Oakland, CA
Panel Discussion
Speakers
- Larry Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization for Progress, Newark, NJ
- Rev. Dr. Ronald Slaughter, Senior Pastor, St. James AME Church, Newark, NJ
- Rev. Dr. Jonathan Weaver, Founding President, Collective Empowerment Group, Upper Marlboro, MD
- Dr. Charlene Sinclair, Director of Investment, Center for Community Change, Washington, DC
- Dr. H. Ahada Stanford, Director, Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization, Philadelphia, PA
- Willie Barney, President & Facilitator, African American Empowerment Network, Omaha, NE
- Michael V. Roberts, Sr., Chairman/CEO, The Roberts Companies, St. Louis, MO
- Dr. Zienzile Dillon, Global President, Marketplace Calling International (MCI), Zimbabwe and Brooklyn, NY
- Randal Pinkett, President/CEO, BCT Partners and Winner NBC’s The Apprentice, Somerset, NJ
Q&A from Audience
The Charge
- Rev. Dennis Dillon, Senior Pastor, The Rising Center, Brooklyn, NY
Concluding Remarks
- Honorable Ras J. Baraka, Mayor, Newark, NJ
