How One N.J. Group Got Its Message Out
By Kristin Holmes

The Rev. Reginald T. Jackson is convinced that racial profiling would still be New Jersey's dirty little secret had it not been for the media's relentless coverage of the issue.

"The veil has been lifted," said Rev. Jackson, president of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey. "And it's not just a New Jersey problem, it's a national problem."

He spoke about the council's efforts to ensure that the issue remained atop the public agenda during the 1999 Media Access Workshop sponsored by PABJ and the Community College of Philadelphia.

"People don't take issues regarding the African American community seriously because we are not persistent in pushing them," said Rev. Jackson, pastor of St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church in Orange, N.J.

The ministers council took the lead role in the drama that began more than a year ago after two state troopers opened fire on four black men traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike. The police practice of stopping motorists simply because they were minority was suddenlty held up to public scrutiny.

The council held press conferences, doggedly speaking out on racial profiling. Eventually, the superintendent of the New Jersey State Police resigned and the state police was investigated; the troopers were indicted, and a new police superintendent, who is biracial, was appointed.

During his speech, Rev. Jackson outlined the five strategies used by the council. "First, we were persistent," he said. "We refused to let the issue go away."

Second, the council refused to allow the media, police or politicians to define the parameters of the discussion, he said. To the council, racial profiling involved constitutional and legal issues, not just racial ones, he said.

"There were people chomping at the bit to turn this into a black/white issue," Rev. Jackson said. "Our position is that if they weren't minority folk, but long-haired folk being pulled over just because they had long hair, it would still be illegal."

Third, he said, the council remained focused on the issue. The group would not allow the latest hot topic to cloud the discussion. "We kept bringing the media back to racial profiling and discrimination by the state police," he said.

The ministers used common-sense tactics -- timing their press conferences, releasing their public statements to achieve the greatest effect and holding press conferences at a location that was convenient for reporters.

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