Mayor Ras Baraka convened a political roundtable to discuss issues affecting urban communities of color.
NEWARK -- As the nation gears up for November's general election, Mayor Ras Baraka is preparing to throw in his two cents.
African-American leaders have concerns, Baraka said, and they want the presidential candidates to hear them.
The mayor this weekend convened a political roundtable in Newark to produce an action agenda regarding urban communities of color for presentation to the campaigns of presumptive party nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
The leaders who joined the roundtable hoped to deepen the conversation about urban issues happening in the national political arena by raising questions about the cost of housing, day care and college, among other topics.
"Those issues aren't really addressed," Baraka said Friday. "And we think the only way to address them is to create a dialogue."
The three-day conference on "Power Politics and Community Reinvestment" includes panel discussions about education, income inequality, the Black Lives Matter movement, and arts and culture.
Although the panelists are contributing to an action agenda to be given to the presidential candidates, Baraka said the purpose of the roundtable lies deeper than that presentation.
"We're doing this because we have to," he said. "We have to put the agenda together, we have to push the momentum. ... I don't expect specific people to respond, but what they have to expect in their non-response is our reaction to their inability to respond."
In other words: The point of the roundtable is to raise voices, regardless of whether Clinton and Trump speak back.
Roundtable participants included Frank Mena, Belize's minister of state; Beverly Bond, founder of non-profit Black Girls Rock; Etan Thomas, a retired NBA player; and others.
Baraka has recently been vocal about several issues facing Newark residents. Last month, he said "a huge need" for more low-income homes in the city has left 20,000 residents on a waiting list for public housing.
He also led a march at the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal to urge the longshoremen unions there to hire more black Newark residents.
Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.