AACCNJ Economic Summit: Accountability, Opportunity, & Equity
“Accountability, Opportunity & Equity” was the theme for the 2025 African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ) State of Black New Jersey Economic Summit.
The annual summit serves as a platform for open dialogue with state representatives from various agencies, legislators, faith and community organizations, the private sector, and Main Street business owners.
The summit focused on public policies and their economic impact on the 1.2 million Black New Jerseyans and the more than 88,000 Black-owned businesses in the state. Topics included education, health, workforce readiness, and securing an equitable share of economic opportunities in both the public and private sectors. Panel discussions centered on building bridges toward mutual success, with the overarching goal of improving competitiveness.
During the summit, several New Jersey gubernatorial candidates—including The Honorable Ras Baraka, The Honorable Sean Spiller, The Honorable Steve Fulop, and Bill Spadea—signed a campaign pledge to ban the use of income proxies in car insurance. For example, the Prohibit Auto Insurance Discrimination Act (PAID Act) aims to prevent insurance companies from using factors unrelated to driving history and ability—such as education, occupation, employment status, and homeownership—as proxies for income, which can disproportionately affect low-income drivers.
“Blacks represent 14% of the state’s population, and according to Nielsen, we are over-indexed in our spending across several industries. Moreover, Black voter participation in the majority political party has consistently influenced election outcomes,” said John E. Harmon Sr. “Our contributions as consumers and voters have not been reciprocated by those who have benefited from them. Therefore, as an organization representing the interests of Black people, it would be an egregious failure of our obligation to our constituency if we did not voice our concerns and pursue strategies for greater accountability, opportunity, and equity.”
Harmon continued, “In the upcoming gubernatorial contest, there are several policy issues that could significantly impact economic opportunity and disposable income for Black residents if they were modified or abolished in New Jersey. Insurance companies in the state—except for AACCNJ member CURE Auto Insurance, which has been a member since 2016—use education, occupation, and credit scores as proxies to determine auto insurance premiums.”
