ABOUT
Chigozie Onyema
FIGHTING FOR A NEW JERSEY THAT WORKS FOR EVERY FAMILY.
CHIGOZIE was born to working class parents in Newark, NJ. He spent his early years in the former Hill Manor Apartments, an affordable housing complex, before moving to the Hilton Neighborhood in Maplewood, during his formative years. Today, he is a proud homeowner in the West Ward of Newark, just steps away from where his parents first shared an apartment, started a family, and established their love for the community.
Chigozie developed his commitment to justice and equity from his experiences in New Jersey public schools. At 18 years old, just after graduating from Columbia High School, he ran for School Board Member in the Maplewood/South Orange School District. Chigozie ran because the public schools had an unjust tracking system. Black students were disproportionately tracked in remedial and lower-level courses, while white students were overwhelmingly placed in honors classes. The local teacher’s union endorsed his candidacy, and his progressive campaign energized students and parents. He came up short on Election Day, but he learned that when we fight, we win, even if it does not happen right away. After the election, the Superintendent agreed to retire, the high school principal was denied tenure, and tracking began in high school, rather than middle school, for science and social studies. And more recently, the school district settled a lawsuit with Black parents that required them to take steps to integrate classrooms.


A BETTER NEW JERSEY FOR ALL OF US
Today, Chigozie is an accomplished
ATTORNEY, COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, & ACTIVIST.
His advocacy and organizing work seek to broaden the scope of democracy to include everyone and deepen the concept to include every relationship. He currently serves as the Senior Director for the Sustainable Cities program at PolicyLink, where he supports 25 cities across the country in their efforts to build more prosperous futures through bold climate action and by addressing racial wealth inequities. Before joining PolicyLink, Chigozie served as the Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, under Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, where he focused on economic justice and led a policy team that evaluated the impact of state and federal legislation on the department’s programs and objectives. Prior to his public service role, Chigozie fought to remove employment barriers for individuals with criminal convictions, through his work as a Staff Attorney for the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.