The Trenton Times published the following opinion piece on April 10, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Opinion: Trenton NAACP is committed to making progress in the city

By Times of Trenton guest opinion column 
on April 10, 2013 at 7:08 AM, updated April 10, 2013 at 7:10 AM

By Jonette C. Smart

On behalf of the Trenton NAACP, I would like to apologize to those who felt that, over the previous years, we’ve been standing in the shadows of the civil rights issues that plagued Trenton rather than being out in front opposing the wrongs that have burdened our city for so many years.

There has been a lack of serious effort to improve the quality of education for our children and a lack of fortitude in providing a state-of-the-art high school built so that every child entering it is safe from the environmental hazards of the current conditions at Trenton Central High School’s main campus. Continuous contention between some city council members and the mayor shows a city lacking serious leadership. The police department’s changes in policing our city result in residents who feel neither safe nor a sense of compassion. We also lack economic development and jobs in the city.

We can’t be silent anymore. We have to speak up and demand better from those in charge — the game-changers who make decisions that affect each and every one of us who lives, works and visits the Capital City.

In all sincerity, collectively we must also bear some of the burden for the current conditions our city faces. We have the ability to change our condition, but will we? We have a voice and have not used it; we have a vote and misused it.

The Trenton NAACP is ready and willing to work with those who are serious about making the conditions of this city better for everyone.

We are building and rebuilding relationships with organizations such as the Trenton Council of Civic Associations, New Jersey Citizens’ Campaign, Coalition for Peace Action, NJ Youth Corps, Thomas Edison State College and others in an effort to collectively empower those who live in the city.

I invite readers and all residents of Trenton to join with the NAACP and other groups because together, we can effect a change.

Let’s resuscitate civil rights and justice for the city of Trenton. The time for silence is no more.

Jonette C. Smart is president of the Trenton chapter of the NAACP.