The NAACP of The Oranges and Maplewood, NJ Teams With National Social Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Nonprofit, Racial Bias Dot Org, Inc., to Offer Unique Solutions In The Wake of Current High Profile Anti-Semitic Pronouncements by Pop Culture Star, Kanye West, and NBA All-Star, Kyrie Irving, That Beget A Heightened Threat Level Against Local Synagogues in Maplewood, NJ and Elsewhere

For Immediate Release
New York, NY and Maplewood, NJ • November 9, 2022
Contact: Kevin Hall – Strivers Row Media, Inc.
MediaAlerts@StriversRowMedia.com
NY: (917) 912-0603
LA: (323) 816-3790

November 9, 2022 – Maplewood, NJ and New York, NY /Strivers Row Media/:
Who: NAACP of The Oranges and Maplewood, NJ President, Darryl Jeffries • Racial Bias Dot Org, Inc. Founder and Director, Leland Hardy • Maplewood, NJ Mayor Dean Dafis
What: Unique solutions to stem the rise in anti-Semitism spurred by the commentary and actions of Kanye West, Kyrie Irving, and others
When: Thursday November 10, 2022 • 2:00PM EST
Where: Maplewood Municipal Building and Town Hall Front Steps, 574 Valley St, Maplewood, NJ 07040
Why: Now, more than ever before, the race and class divides in America require narrowing and healing

Recent communications by pop culture superstar, Kanye West, and NBA All-Star, Kyrie Irving, to their many tens of missions of social media followers and others have given rise to heightened expressions of anti-Semitism by those who espouse hate. “The NAACP, which is the nation’s first and oldest civil rights organization, enjoys a long and storied history of advocating for and protecting the rights of all people. That history includes Jewish people being among the original Founders of the NAACP back in 1909,” stated NAACP of the Oranges and Maplewood, NJ President, Darryl Jeffries. “Jewish people, like Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who, with James Cheney, a Black man, died in the struggle for civil rights for Black people in America evidence Blacks’ and Jews’ shared commitment for equality at any cost,” Mr. Jeffries continued.

Leland Hardy is the first ever African American Fellow of the Wharton School’s flagship Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies MBA/MA dual degree program at the University of Pennsylvania. “Many of the biggest opportunities I have been afforded in my career on Wall Street and in other businesses and, more importantly, many of my most enduring friendships, are a direct result of my status as an alumnus of the Lauder Institute which was co-founded by the current President of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder,” stated Hardy, a Holocaust Scholar. “One of my close friends and mentors, Hank Thomas, is one of the only two surviving original Freedom Riders. When I hosted the ‘Racism In Our Society – The Saga Continues’ symposium with the Jewish Federation of Delaware during the COROVIRUS pandemic, I made sure that both of the only two surviving original Freedom Riders, Messrs. Charles Person and Hank Thomas participated,” added Hardy, himself a former NBA Player Agent and retired professional athlete.

“Our young brothers, Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, our young sisters, and many others, need to hear directly from the mouths of people like Hank Thomas stories about how a Jewish man bought a Dairy Queen restaurant and sold it to Mr. Thomas for just $1 because banks would not lend money to Black entrepreneurs during his day,” continued Hardy. “Mr. Thomas would go on to own dozens of McDonald’s restaurants and would become a multimillionaire businessman and philanthropist who has funded countless scholarships for Black students,” added Hardy about his mentor. (see: https://bit.ly/RacialBiasDotOrgRevJohnMooreAsKingForFreedomRiderHankThomas4-1-21)

Messrs. Jeffries and Hardy plan to accompany Mr. Irving to his upcoming meetings with Jewish leaders, to suggest Jewish and other relevant leaders, like Freedom Riders Messrs. Thomas and Person, with whom to meet, and to meet with Brooklyn Nets Owner, Joe Tsai, to help facilitate greater understanding by not just Mr. Irving, but by all parties involved. Jeffries and Hardy also plan to meet with the CEOs of Nike and Adidas, the CEOs of the music and film industries’ biggest companies and labels, as well as with the Commissioners of the NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, MLS, with team owners, and with the Presidents of the major college sports organizations.

As is chronicled in detail at www.PPEimporter.com, at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic Governor Newsom’s Office and the City of San Francisco Office of Emergency Management contracted Hardy as a key partner to manufacture in China and to deliver to our shores millions of pieces of PPE for Bay Area front line healthcare workers, hospitals, and public safety personnel. In New York, former Governor Cuomo’s office and the CEO of the largest employer in New York State, Northwell Health, along with the CEO of NYC Health & Hospitals Corp. had Mr. Hardy use his native fluency in reading, writing, and speaking Chinese to join Alibaba Vice Chairman and Brooklyn Nets owner, Joe Tsai’s, Blue Pool Capital in vetting Chinese PPE factories for a multimillion piece PPE donation by Mr. Tsai to the State of NY. The following press release, issued just last week, provides additional background information on Racial Bias Dot Org: https://striversrowmedia.com/former-madison-square-garden-heavyweight-boxing-sensation-turned-hedge-fund-advisor-delivers-best-solution-yet-amid-new-yorks-migrant-crisis-and-migrants-controversial-housing-at-randalls-island/

About the NAACP

Founded in 1909, today’s NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Early members included W.E.B. Dubois, Ida B. Wells, Mary White Ovington and Moorfield Storey.

About Racial Bias Dot Org, Inc.

Racial Bias Dot Org, Inc. is a social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion organization focused on highlighting contributions to society by persons or color, creating employment and mentoring opportunities for minority women and men, eliminating racial and gender bias in the workplace and society, and in leveling the playing field for persons on color in healthcare and in education. (www.RacialBias.org)

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