MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE — A Rutgers law professor told the South Orange-Maplewood Community Coalition on Race that the American Dream is being undermined by institutional discrimination, resulting in a lack of opportunities for impoverished people and minorities, during the “Two Towns, One Book” discussion event at The Woodland on Nov. 19.
David Dante Troutt, in explaining the premise of his new book “The Price of Paradise,” said local decision-making in matters like the tax base and zoning has widened the gap between the rich and the poor, leading to communities with radically different demographics, such as Millburn and Irvington. As a result, the poor, especially people of color, are not given the same opportunities in education and jobs, Troutt said. And considering that the population of minorities is growing at a rate that could eventually surpass the white population — Census estimates in 2012 found that 50.4 percent of the U.S. population younger than age 1 is comprised by minorities as of July 1, 2011 — he said future generations will be deprived of the same advantages afforded to people today.
The solution to this lack of “regional equity,” Troutt argued, is for decision-makers and citizens in general to start thinking of what is best for the larger population, not just their own children. If change is ever going to happen, Troutt said, people should be thinking about how everyone can benefit from the opportunities of a community in deciding matters like districting for schools instead of worrying about how their families will be affected.
“The main problem is a tolerance for unacknowledged disparities of opportunities,” Troutt told the News-Record after speaking to the audience. “We all face a problem with being a little too proud of our differences and being blind to the distance we still have to go.”
Troutt said towns like South Orange and Maplewood — which consist of an approximate 57-percent white, 35-percent black, 5-percent Hispanic and 3-percent Asian population, according to CCR Executive Director Nancy Gagnier — do not have a lot of the overt problems of inequality described in his book; in fact, he said they were exemplary for their diversity. But he also pointed out that, just because a community is not segregated, does not mean it does not have issues with integration. One only has to look at the achievement gap — the difference in test scores between white and minority students — in the South Orange-Maplewood schools and similar districts to see that, he said.
“These are places of tremendous opportunity,” Troutt said. “But to see such a lack of balance in the outcomes experienced by kids in our schools, often on the basis of race and socioeconomic status, is deeply problematic. It has to concern us all. If towns like this are going to be a model for America’s future, we have to get those next-level issues right.”
The 2014 NJASK test scores for the South Orange-Maplewood School District reported a 1-percent achievement gap increase in elementary school math and a 3-percent increase in middle school language arts. The gap remained steady in elementary school language arts and actually decreased by 1 percent in middle school math.
That Troutt’s subjects hit close to home in South Orange and Maplewood is exactly why “The Price of Paradise” was chosen as the first book read for the Two Towns, One Book initiative, according to Gagnier. More than that, she told the News-Record that the book’s message of inclusion speaks directly to the coalition’s mission — breaking down racial barriers by uniting people of all ethnicities.
“Every time we have one of these events, one of our goals is to bring people together so that you can face-to-face meet someone you did not know before and have a conversation about some topic that is connected to integration or inclusion in Maplewood and South Orange,” Gagnier said. “So it is learning, but it is also relationship-building. And the relationship-building part is really crucial to integration.”
It was with that mission in mind that the Two Towns, One Book initiative was created, according to CCR Program Director Audrey Rowe. By getting people of all races across both towns to read one book, Rowe said, it puts people on the same intellectual page and inspires them to become closer as a community. While a few dozen attended this first event, Rowe said she hopes even more will turn out for the planned “Two Towns, Many Stories” event next year, which will give coalition members the chance to read racially-themed short fiction and discuss it as a group.
And by holding such events, Rowe said the goal is to attract even more people to the cause of racial harmony in South Orange and Maplewood.
“We need to continue to grow our critical mass,” Rowe told the News-Record. “We have a great start in this community, but the whole purpose of having a dialog is to make other residents aware of how our futures are tied to our neighbors’ and willing to work with our government in whatever way we can to try to get the remedy that we are looking for. So I think we are doing the right things. What we need to do is more of it, and get more people actively engaged.”
Coalition trustee Celia King agreed that hosting gatherings and discussions is vital to the organization’s purpose of unity between South Orange and Maplewood, in addition to potentially reaching other towns, because such meetings allow for open-minded discussion.
“It is pivotal,” King told the News-Record. “We are generating conversation with people in the community. We get people who come out to the event. We get people who are virtually strangers engaging in conversations, which can oftentimes be difficult. But the fact that we are now grounding that with and starting that off with a book discussion helps to make people more comfortable. And that is the beginning, which is awesome. It is a good first step.”
Two Towns, One Book is part of the Integration Through the Arts Program, just one of many ways the CCR seeks to attract people to its cause. It also runs the Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance and has a civic engagement institute to train residents on how to become leaders within service organizations and municipal committees, among other initiatives.
Moving forward, Gagnier said the coalition plans to hold steady to what it already is doing while modeling its methods for other communities. Additionally, she said she wants to work with leadership in the urban centers nearby. After all, she said, the CCR’s work will mean little if its cause does not spread.
“We know that we will not have a broader effect unless other communities are paying attention to that,” Gagnier said.
A committee has also been formed to address problems in the South Orange-Maplewood schools, which were raised a few times by coalition members throughout the night. Co-chairwoman Carol Barry-Austin, who is a founding member of the coalition, told the News-Record she sees three major issues with the district: the achievement gap, parental engagement and staff diversity. To fix these issues, Barry-Austin said the committee has held ongoing discussions about the gap, provided programming encouraging parental involvement in their children’s schooling, and held a workshop on cultural competency among district staff. As a result, she said the district has hired a facilitator from Fairleigh Dickinson University in September to work with administrators for the year on the subject.
“We are very proud that we were on the forefront of that,” Barry-Austin told the News-Record.
The fact that South Orange and Maplewood has an organization willing to do these things is extremely impressive because they are so rare, according to Troutt. In fact, he said that he believes groups like the coalition are the best chance to attain the change needed to end the inequity problems about which he wrote.
“The mere fact that this organization exists is cause for a lot of hope,” Troutt said. “It means that people are committed to educating themselves and each other to very challenging realities. It provides a place for community self-reflection and growth. And I also believe organizations like this prevent a lot of harm from ever happening. So they not only continue important traditions, but without us ever knowing they ward off a lot of the catastrophe that comes with ignorance or indifference.”