Amina Bey
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEWARK WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD
One of Brick City’s Best and Brightest Shines Her Light on Her Home By R.L. Witter
A
mina Bey is the executive director of the Newark Workforce Development Board and director of the Shani Baraka Women’s Resource Center. Born and raised in Brick City, she knows Newark personally. Her work has allowed her to get to know Newark and its residents intimately, and it is that intimacy that makes her so effective in her quest to share with others the Newark she knows and loves. She easily identifies why her view of Newark is different from that of many others, “I really got it from my mother. She’s always been a public servant and an advocate, so I just followed in her footsteps,” she said. Bey’s mother formed the first tenants association for their building, belonged to People’s Organization for Progress, and brought her children along to protest apartheid in the 1980s. “She took us to every type of cultural event —we lived at the library and the museum,” Bey chuckled. Her mother is Fredrica Bey, founder of WISOMMM (Women in Support of the Million Man March) Cultural Center in Newark. In contrast to childhood days of culture and protest, in elementary school (before she fell in love with the Giants), Bey dreamed of being a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader .With maturity came different dreams. One was to follow in the
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footsteps of her hero, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. She was thrilled when Congressman Donald M. Payne, Sr. arranged for her to meet the legendary legal crusader just prior to his retirement. “I wanted to be the first black woman on the Supreme Court,” she recalled. The Supreme Court might not have been in her future, but a life of service definitely was. “This is my home,” Bey said deliberately. “So it just makes sense for me to work with my people, on behalf of my people.” After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at Stockton State College and a Master’s in Public Administration from Rutgers, Bey spent 15 years working with the Essex County Workforce Investment Board and the Division of Training and Development. After that, “Working for the Baraka administration was a natural transition. I supported him from the time he ran for mayor in 1994 and I support him now,” she said. Bey has worked and continues to work with the unemployed and under-employed. She sometimes sees people, especially women and children, at or close to rock bottom when they are dealing with domestic violence and abuse. It is then that her calm and patient demeanor, diplomatic approach, strength, and determination serve both her and the community best. If she could change one thing about Newark, “It would be the image that other people have of Newark,” she explained. “It’s a resilient city, full of intelligent and talented people… It’s beautiful. Newark has an abundance of culture, history, and refinement. People like to put this negative blanket over Newark and we’re not going to allow that.” While some might say Bey’s childhood dreams went unrealized, others might see it differently. She’s living a wonderful life full of purpose, family, and joy. Her pride in her hometown makes her one of Newark’s biggest cheerleaders, and her work focuses on improving the lives of people in the community. Always humble, she’s quick to give credit for her accomplishments to her upbringing. “Not everybody had a Fredrica Bey to set the bar and push them to achieve goals,” she said. True. But thankfully, Newark has Amina Bey to advocate for the city and its residents and represent Brick City’s best. MUSICAL TASTES: ALL TYPES OF JAZZ, AS WELL AS OLD SCHOOL HIP-HOP, AND JILL SCOTT ON HER BOOKSHELF: SO MANY BOOKS! THE SCI-FI AFICIONADO IS CURRENTLY RE-READING KINDRED BY OCTAVIA BUTLER FAVORITE HOBBIES: ATTENDING LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES AND FESTIVALS, LIVE THEATER AND DANCE GUILTY PLEASURE: SPA SERVICES INCLUDING SAUNAS, MASSAGES, AND A STEAM ROOM. “GIVE ME A SPA CERTIFICATE OR A BASKET OF SPA PRODUCTS AND YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND FOR LIFE!”
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