Governor Murphy’s Legacy and the Justice Wins Championed by New Jersey’s Black Faith Community and SandSJ

“Governor Phil Murphy’s final State of the State address affirms a legacy defined by bold, community‑rooted justice reform — a legacy that was shaped not only by his administration but by the unwavering advocacy of New Jersey’s Black faith community and the leadership of Salvation and Social Justice (SandSJ). For years, these faith‑rooted organizers have carried the moral vision for a fairer New Jersey, and throughout Murphy’s tenure, that vision became policy, practice, and statewide transformation.

“Murphy ‘s administration further strengthened reproductive and maternal health protections, ensuring New Jersey remains a national safe haven for reproductive freedom — and providing structural support for the work Black churches and Black maternal‑health advocates have championed for generations.

“One of the most significant victories of this era was the restoration of voting rights to more than 80,000 residents on probation or parole — a democratic milestone led by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, strongly supported by Black faith‑rooted leaders and movement partners who insisted that returning citizens must have a voice in the future of their communities.

“Governor Murphy also enacted the Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youth and Communities Act, a groundbreaking investment co‑championed by SandSJ and NJISJ. This law channeled resources into community‑based, non‑carceral solutions and strengthened a youth‑centered justice vision long carried by Black churches, clergy, and community healers.

“Perhaps no reform better illustrates the power of faith‑rooted advocacy than the Public Health Emergency Credits Law — a policy led by SandSJ, in partnership with the ACLU‑NJ, that produced the largest decarceration event in New Jersey history. This win emerged directly from the Black faith community’s insistence that the humanity, safety, and lives of incarcerated people must matter in public‑health planning.

“Following this historic decarceration, the Murphy administration significantly increased investments in reentry, including funding community partners and bolstering the NJ LEAD program in the Department of Corrections. These investments were deeply shaped by SandSJ’s leadership and the broader Black faith community’s insistence that returning residents deserve dignity, opportunity, and holistic support.

“This same vision guided the administration’s major investments in Community‑Based Violence Intervention (CBVI) — strategies SandSJ helped advance statewide. These interventions helped drive record‑low gun violence in 2025, with New Jersey experiencing a 59% drop in statewide shooting victims since 2017 and historic lows across cities like Camden, Newark, Paterson, Atlantic City, and Trenton. CBVI — built on credible messengers, community wisdom, and trauma‑informed care — reflects the very heart of the Black faith tradition’s commitment to restoration, safety, and life.

Murphy’s administration also expanded non‑police crisis response through the Seabrooks‑Washington Community‑Led Crisis Response Act, again echoing the Black faith community’s call for care‑centered, public‑health‑rooted responses rather than punitive ones.

“This administration took further strides by putting forth New Jersey’s Independent Prosecutor Directive establishing a ten‑step, statewide system ensuring that investigations of police use‑of‑force and in‑custody deaths are fully independent, transparent, and insulated from conflicts of interest. For communities long demanding impartiality in police oversight, the Independent Prosecutor Directive stands as a major safeguard and a direct response to decades of calls from New Jersey’s Black faith community and justice advocates for a process that the public can trust.

“It's also worth noting that Police Licensure was also established during Governor Murphy’s tenure. This model — the first of its kind in state history — is part of New Jersey’s broader Excellence in Policing initiative, which also includes expanded training, revamped disciplinary procedures, and stronger early‑warning systems for at‑risk officers. By putting forth this accountability framework, the administration took tangible steps to better ensure that policing in New Jersey operates with consistency, integrity, and a commitment to public trust.

“And finally, yesterday, Governor Murphy signed S2348/A4175, New Jersey’s comprehensive Use‑of‑Force reform law. This legislation brings transparency, accountability, and humanity to policing statewide — reforms advanced for years by faith‑based leaders, bereaved families, and community organizers who demanded policing reflect the sanctity of human life.

“This body of work — from voting rights to restorative justice, decarceration to reentry, CBVI to crisis response, maternal health to policing reform — represents not only the legacy of Governor Murphy’s administration, but the legacy of New Jersey’s Black faith community, whose moral courage, sustained organizing, and spiritual clarity made these achievements possible.

“SandSJ’s leadership, grounded in Black faith, shaped nearly every justice breakthrough of the last eight years. These are wins carried by churches, clergy, directly impacted families, and countless community members who refused to accept the world as it is and fought for the world as it should be.

“This is their legacy.

“This is New Jersey’s legacy.

“And this chapter will be remembered as a turning point in the moral arc of the state.”