Rep. Donald Payne Honors 6 Black Community Leaders In NJ-10

NEW JERSEY — U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey is tipping his hat to six community leaders in the state’s 10th Congressional District in honor of Black History Month.

This year’s honorees of Payne’s annual celebration are being spotlighted for their work in Essex, Hudson and Union counties, the congressman said.

The high-achieving community members are:

• Jersey City Councilwoman Denise Ridley for her work on the council and her efforts to make generic drugs more available to improve medical care for the less fortunate.
• Union County Commissioner Michele Delisfort for her work on the commission, her commitment to community development, and her past service as the mayor of Union.
• William Brown III for his work as the former president of the American Institute of Architects and his work to encourage more youth to become architects.
• Jimmy Small for his work for the local Muslim community and service as a former East Orange school board member, former city councilmember and Navy veteran.
• The Rev. Daryl Griffin, pastor at Monumental Baptist Church in Jersey City, for his work to provide food, clothing and other community services to the area.
• Brandon Givens for his work to supervise multi-million-dollar programs to benefit communities as the senior advisor for community development and equitable investments at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and former director of community development for Union County.

“I am very proud to recognize these outstanding members of our Black community,” Payne said.

“Black History Month is a time to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans to the growth and betterment of our country,” he continued. “The people I honored today have made significant contributions to our communities. But they might not get the recognition they deserve for the work they have done to improve these communities in a variety of ways.”

“I look forward to working with all of them to better our communities in the future,” Payne added.

New Jersey's 10th Congressional District includes the following municipalities:

• Essex County – Caldwell, East Orange, Essex Fells, Irvington, Montclair (part), Newark (part), Orange, Verona, West Orange
• Hudson County – Jersey City (part)
• Union County – Cranford, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden (part), Roselle, Roselle Park, Union Township

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