2016 Festival Program Book - Rutherford Multicultural Festival

Table of Contents
4. Statement from Bea Goldberg, Rutherford Civil Rights Chair
6. Festival Performers
10. Rutherford Historic Narratives
14. Student Essay and Contest Winners
21. Union School Students of Ms. Klubeck’s class
23. Our Hosts Grace Gold and Liam Otero
Rutherford E.R.A.S.E. Club
25. Pierreponte School Students of Mrs. Smith’s class
36. Proclamation from Senator Cory Booker
37. 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award
40. Board of Bergen County Freeholders Proclamation
46. A Brief History of Rutherford
49. Proclamation from Rutherford Mayor Joe DeSalvo
50. Bergen County Proclamation
56. Rutherford Civil Rights and Multicultural Festival Commission
57. Rutherford Civil Rights Liason Dr. Stephanie McGowan
58. Special Thanks
(C) 2016 Rutherford Civil Rights Commission. All rights reserved. This program is published annually in
conjunction with the Rutherford Multicultural Festival. The program was designed and published by Guy Tetro
in conjunction with Tetro Graphics. For more information on the Rutherford Civil Rights Commission or to be a
part of next year’s festival, please see the Commission’s website at: www.rutherfordtogether.com
3
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the 13th Annual Rutherford Multicultural Festival!
Today, we celebrate our freedom and reach out to our sisters and brothers across the
world who are seeking peace, prosperity, and above all, the freedom we often take for
granted. We dedicate this festival to all freedom-loving people around the world, especially thinking of refugees and those suffering in war-torn countries.
We honor all advocates of freedom, especially those who fought, sacrificed and were non-violent in their pursuit, like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Peace Laureates Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Aung
San Suu Kyi.
The 13th Annual Rutherford Multicultural Festival continues to embrace a vast array of cultures through music,
dance and food. Its mission is to foster and celebrate diversity by teaching us all to accept one another and work
together to create a loving and vibrant community.
Important contributors who help make this remarkable day possible include the Borough of Rutherford and our
generous co-event sponsors, Boiling Springs Savings Bank and the BCB Rutherford Community Bank.
We truly appreciate our Children of the World sponsors, Shop-Rite, Hamptons Vein and Vascular NJ PC, Lightbridge Academy. We are grateful to our talent sponsors, Better Homes & Gardens Coccia Realty, Quality Auto
Mall and The Rutherford Education Association.
A special thank you to our raffle gift card donors, Village Gourmet, Mambo Tea House, Paisano’s and Risotto
House and the BCB Rutherford Community Bank for sponsoring the International Beer and Wine Garden for
our adult guests over 21.
We urge you to support these businesses who invest in your local community by helping to make important
festivals like ours possible and free for all to attend.
Thank you to the Superintendent of Rutherford Schools, Mr. Hurley, Rutherford High School E.R.A.S.E club,
Sylvan, Lincoln, Washington, Pierrepont and Union Schools and The Academy at Saint Mary. Joining the festival family this year is Felician University. Our annual student poster contest was the best one on record, with
149 entries.
Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State,
through grant funds administered by the Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Cultural and Historic
Affairs.
Thank you for coming out and being a part of this great community event. Please enjoy the entertainment all
day, and be sure to check out our wonderful food and shopping vendors!
Beatrice Goldberg
Chair, Rutherford Multicultural Festival
Chair, Rutherford Civil Rights Commission
4
SOME OF THIS YEAR’S PERFORMERS:
Ayazamana is a dance group who’s mission is to promote Ecuadorian culture and teach the new generations about our customs
and traditions.
Biwanko is the one of the most successful Japanese
Children’s Drumming Groups in New Jersey.
They have been naturally exposed to the core of Japanese heritage through the power of Suwa Style Traditional Drumming since 2007.
Broadway Bound Center for Performance and Dance is a school
that specializes in all aspects of dance, voice and musical theater.
Donghwa Cultural Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit
organization that strives to promote Korean and East Asian
culture within American society through educational
programs on traditional Korean music, arts, dance, and food.
Gorana Jr. Folk Ensemble - Hristo Botev Bulgarian School
NY serves the preservation of the Bulgarian heritage among the
youngest Bulgarian community in USA.
Bismillah Hafeez and Queen Yolanda create one of the most
entertaining duet groups in the metropolitan area. They perform Soul/R&B classics from the 1960s to 1990s, as well as
inspirational music.
Little Ustads Indian Dance Group will dance to a fusion of
Bollywood Dance Songs. The kids are portraying the happiness,
fun and style in Indian Cinema.
6
TropyBand Orquesta is a 9 member band that is primarily a
salsa band, however they also play other tropical rythms such
as cumbia, merengue, bachata and bolero.
Steve Way is a 25 year old substitute teacher and motivational speaker by
day and actor and stand up comedian by night. He was born with Muscular Dystrophy and is an advocate for disability awareness. Steve performs
stand up in the NJ/NY area, motivational speeches around the country, and
is the co-creator and star of the web series Uplifting Dystrophy.
Viva Vallenato performs vallenato & cumbia folk music of Colombia, with wild Latin rhythms and joyful accordion melodies. They’ve
appeared on Channel 11 News, Univision, Telemundo, & Colombian
television. www.VivaVallenato.com
The Woorigarak Youth Dance Troupe is a group of young
Korean-American dancers who share many of Korea’s traditions
and emotions with the rest of the world through the art of
choreography.
Kyra Seeley is the current Miss Somerset County 2016 and will be competing for Miss New Jersey this June. She attends school at Rutgers University and resides in Central New Jersey. Kyra has been Irish dancing for 10
years and is a pupil of the Heritage Irish Dance Company.
Rhea and Reva Pavithran are students of Kalashri School of
Arts. Rhea is currently a 17 year-old college student attending
Drexel University. Reva is a 12 year-old seventh grader at East
Brook Middle School. They are both skilled in classical Indian
and Bollywood styles of dance, which they will demonstrate for
you all today.
7
2016 Festival Performers:
12pm Host Grace Gold & Liam Otero - Welcome & Announcements
Mayor Joe De Salvo, Jr. - Community Awards
Richard Kelly, Fr. Campus Ministry Director, Felician University - Invocation
Gilda Healy - National Anthem
12:15pm-12:35pm Tropy Band Orquesta - Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue, Bolero & Bachata
12:35-1:05pm Mrs. Tricia Lalla’s Rutherford Union School Select Choirs:
1:07-1:20pm Woorigarak Korean Cultural Art Center Dancers
1:20-1:35pm Rhea and Reva Pavithran - Indian Classical Fusion Dance
1:30-1:50pm Donghwa Cultural Foundation - Korean Drummers
1:50-1:55pm Champions of Tomorrow: Ritu Shah & Friends
(Indian, Spanish, Irish, European and more)
1:55-2pm Girls Scouts Thinking Day Dance International Celebration
Miss Somerset County Kyra Seeley - Irish Step Dancer
2-2:25pm Gorana Jr. Folk Ensemble – Bulgarian Folk Dancers
2:25-2:30pm Peruvian Children Dancers
2:30-2:45pm Little Ustads Indian Dance Group - Bollywood Fusion
2:45-2:55pm Steve Way - Comedian
3-4pm Viva Vallenato - Music of Colombia Band
4-4:15pm Zumba International Dance Class - Paulette Rodriguez
4:20-4:40pm Biwanko Group - Japanese Children Drummers
4:40-5:20pm Broadway Bound
5:30-5:45pm Ayazamana Ecuadorian Cultural Center - Ecuadorian Dancers
5:45-6:15pm Queen Yolanda and Bismillah Hafeez - African American Classic R&B
6:15-7pm Redhawk Native American Arts Council - Native American Dance, Music & History
8
9
Rutherford Historic Narratives
by Bill Einreinhofer
Rutherford Historic Narratives is a series of videotaped
oral history interviews, all designed to give viewers a
fuller sense of Rutherford’s remarkable history. While the
project originated with the Rutherford Civil Rights Commission, various community groups and organizations
take an active role in our project. The Rutherford Public
Library is the permanent repository of all video material.
In 2015, three interviews were conducted.
Bobby Wong
Now Executive Chef and owner of the Village Restaurant
Group, when Bobby Wong arrived in the United States
he spoke no English. By his own admission, the time he
spent in the Rutherford school system was tumultuous.
Yet the lessons he learned visiting the homes of his class-
Bobby Wong
mates had a deep impact on him, influencing not only how
he built his successful restaurant business, but also his family
life as well. Wong’s innovative Village Gourmet restaurant
helped redefine downtown Rutherford as a dining destination.
Mary Shoiket
Mary Shoiket
100 year-old Mary Shoiket vividly recalls telling her mother,
“We should not go to war.” She was 12 years old at the time.
She, and her husband Henry, lived in Rutherford for nearly
47 years. Both volunteered to teach English as a Second
Language (ESL) at the Rutherford Public Library. Active in
the civil rights and antiwar movements, today you can find
them at demonstrations calling for racial justice. At a time
of life when most are content to let others “carry the torch,”
Mary Shoiket continues to be an advocate for human rights.
The Meadowlands Museum
The officers, trustees, staff and supporters of the Meadowland Museum play a pivotal role in
preserving Rutherford’s history. This includes the stories of the families who built the community, dating back to colonial times. Interim Director Gilda Healy explains the genesis of the Museum, its move to its current location, and its focus on the entire Meadowlands region. Central
are the stories of area families, like the Bectons and Dickinsons. Super Storms Sandy and Irene
took a toll on the Museum, but it came back stronger than ever.
10
Rutherford Essay and Poster Contest Winners:
Peace Essay
1st Place Winner:
by Cecilia Cirne, Mrs. Bowden Grade: 11
care of their economies and communal growth by educating the people and creating an agriculture industry that
the commodities could use to become sustainable and self sufficient. This aspect will help to create long lasting
peace by minimizing the possibility of hunger and malnutrition coming back to harm the stabilized communities.
Within my lifetime, I hope to create a more peaceful environment by eradicating starvation and malnutrition across the globe. Hunger is a serious issue everywhere, not just third world countries. I have a love of
food and a love of helping people, and the idea that there are children drinking dirty water and going day without any food at all really upsets me, especially because statistically, it is such an easy problem to fix. The world
produces an adequate amount of food to feed every single person. The reason starvation and malnutrition exist
is because of the lack of transportation and funds needed to take all that food to people across the world who
need it.
Within 50 years, I hope to be close to my goal of eradicating hunger. My dream would be to be working in part with a government or nonprofit organization, such as UNICEF, to develop foods that would stabilize
starving communities while other organizations work to stabilize agriculture and further prevent hunger in the
same communities. I would be working part time in labs and part time in the field to produce the product and
then to distribute it and observe the effects on the people within the communities. I would study different foods,
known as superfoods, such as quinoa, acai, walnuts, kale, assorted dried fruits, and brown rice, that could be
responsibly and sustainably sourced and use their qualities to produce protein bars and other food sources high
in protein, omegas, fiber, and numerous vitamins and minerals. Within 50 years I hope to have visited numerous
countries, including Burundi, Eritrea, Comoros, Timor Leste, Sudan, Chad, Yemen, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and
Zambia, which happen to be the world’s top 10 hungriest countries. Within 50 years I want to have travelled the
world and eradicated hunger in at least one community in each country I visited. I don’t want to just get rid of
hunger, I want to get rid of malnutrition. I want to be a part of the movement that create healthy, well nourished,
satisfied people all over the globe. Within 50 years, I want to be able to say that I changed someone’s life by
making it that they never have to wonder when their next meal will come.
This will hopefully create
for a more peaceful world by
ending all the conflicts that come
with hunger, malnutrition, and
access to clean water. Every day
21,000 people die due to hunger
or malnutrition related issues.
That means that every year 7.7
million people die because they
don’t have access to adequate
food and water supply. There is
constantly fighting and violence
for access to food and water. In
addition, the amount of harm
that big companies do to small
agricultural villages across the
globe is incomprehensible. Some
companies give back but most do
not, destroying entire communities. The programs that I hope to
be a part of wouldn’t only take
care of starving people, but take
14
Marcus Asllani - 2nd Place Poster Contest Winner
Pierrepont School, Grade 5
Owen Lull - 1st Place Poster Contest Winner
Pierrepont School, Grade 5
15
Essay Contest Winner 2nd Place:
Civil Rights Commission Essay by Noelle Lemaire , Mrs. Bowden, APLAC
“Peace is achievable by acceptance”. In today’s culture, some citizens have difficulties
accepting. Whether it be accepting homosexuals, different religious groups, or even people of
different races. We live in a time period that is much more advanced than the eras before where
gay marriage is legal and segregation is gone, yet there is still much more progress need to be
made. If everyone became open and accepting to every idea in the world, the world would be
able to achieve a peaceful co-existence. Now do not confuse this suggestion with liking the
ideals; the world does not have to like different ideas, but world citizens must learn to deal with
situations in a respectful manner, such as not committing hate crimes and not oppressing other
minorities. Acceptance today is much more achievable because of the different changes the
generations today have seen. The only way to reach a peaceful world is by gaining respect and
acceptance for each individual.
Growing up, young children are taught that everyone is unique in their own ways and
that humans all have something special about them. Rather than discriminating against differences, we should be like children and find that special characteristic in each and every person.
It is quite ironic that society tells us to pride ourselves on what makes each and every person
unique yet there is still oppression. If people continue to oppress others because of their ideas,
the world is going to be a hateful place but if people are loving and accepting of one another,
the world can be a place of peace. The quote I have dreamed up has come from seeing how little
acceptance is left in the world. The people of this great planet are all different and we should
learn to love everyone no matter what differences are present in society.
Acceptance is the only answer to solving discrimination. If everyone was accepting of
flaws both significant and minor, the world would have more productive citizens and less selfharm. Pop culture sets so many unrealistic body and personality standards for both men and
women across the globe. Some people have one set idea of how a man and a woman should
look and act and are unable to accept the differences in similarities. No man woman or child
should ever be discriminated by body types. Along with individual personalities, body types
range within society and all types should be accepted. There should not be standards set by the
media and other famous individuals that influence how young people view themselves. The
standards set today by society are unreasonable and cause a lot of self hatred and not enough acceptance.
The media plays an important role in regulating stories and updates. For example, social media networks have live updating features on what is happening around the world and
young people are exposed to “perfection”. If young adults focus on the negative things around
the world and trying to achieve “perfection”, the world will be a terrible place with no love for
others or for themselves. The answer to this problem is acceptance. Accepting others is the best
16
option for world peace. If everyone is surrounded by a world of love and laughter, there would
be less wars and less discrimination. The world filled with peace is achievable, we just need the
right leaders of the twenty-first century to guide our way to our goal. The goal for today’s generation should be to become a generation of love and acceptance not a generation of discrimination. Peace is something world leaders have been searching for an answer to for centuries, and
now I give you my solution to finding peace, “Peace is achievable by acceptance”.
Alyssa McCarthy - 3rd Place Poster Contest Winner
Pierrepont School, Grade 5
Elaine Collado - 1st Place Poster Contest Winner
The Academy at Saint Mary, Grade 7
17
3rd Place Essay Contest Winner:
“Peace will come when the world is ready”
–Halenur Komsul, Grade 11, Mrs. Bowden
When we eat a meal that is too nutritious after a period of malnutrition, our bodies will
most likely reject it. This is because once our bodies become accustomed to something, whether
it be a product, a workout routine, or a specific diet, it is difficult to suddenly change it without
having a negative reaction. This ultimately results in resorting back to the initial routine because
it’s easier to stay the same that it is to change.
The same ideology can be applied to social constructs. These range from internalized
racism to sexism to xenophobia. Therefore, when someone tries to advocate for peace of any
sort, it is nearly impossible simply because of the time period we live in. Rather than focusing
on the end result, we must first set up a path to follow. Peace can and will only be achieved once
everyone understands its importance. If we tried to create world peace out of the blue, people
would not be able to reverse their mentalities and they would reject the ideas that promoted
equality and freedom.
The most important aspect of attaining peace is to understand that its results will not be
immediate. The focus should be on educating people first, so that they are able to comprehend
why it is so important. Get the word out before doing anything that the people aren’t ready for.
Represent people of color, various religions and equality between men and women before we
can expect an accepting society. For many people their beliefs and morals are not theirs but
the generations before them. They have been taught to think a certain way that they should not
be looked down upon for, but rather we should work to open their minds. This can be done by
subconsciously training
their minds to see that
underneath the surface,
we are all humans. This
is important to do before
expecting peace to be
accepted because those
who reject the idea of
peace can then be held
accountable for their
close mindedness.
Peace will come
when the world is ready.
It is not something that
can be rushed for it is a
topic that not everyone
18
Alexandra Wasko - 2nd Place Poster Contest Winner
The Academy at Saint Mary, Grade 7
understands. There are some people who believe that peace is unnecessary, that our world is
perfectly fine the way it is. The people must be educated before we can expect change. Our
current society does not have the capability to stop the discrimination that minorities face
because they are unaware of the reality of it all. When everyone has an understanding of why
peace is necessary, why we must stop judging people for things that are out of their control,
then peace will be attained because there will be no reason for it not to be desired.
Just as our bodies reject change, our society also rejects change. The only possible way
to overcome this is the gradually feed the people with knowledge, with reasons to finally see
why we must have peace in our world Peace will come when it is accepted into society, once
we everyone sees the truth, and the truth is out there. Patience, is essential, so for the mean
time let us not waste time trying to force the idea of peace onto others, but rather integrate it
into society.
Raquel Izaguirre - 3rd Place Poster Contest Winner
The Academy at Saint Mary, Grade 6
Bridget Cronrath - 1st Place Collage Contest Winner
The Academy at Saint Mary, Grade 3
19
Lina Pal- 2nd Place Collage Contest
Winner. Washington School, Grade 2
Jury Russo - 3rd Place Collage Contest Winner
Grade K , Sylvan School
Essay and Poster contest winners presented with their awards by the
Mayor and Commission on April 25, 2016.
20
Union School’s Art teacher Alexis Klubeck’s class
21
Rutherford Multicultural Festival Hosts:
Grace Gold and Liam Otero
Grace Gold is a beauty and wellness journalist who reports
on-air, in print and online. She contributes to the TODAY show,
PIX 11 and countless local stations cross country, magazines including Marie Claire, BRIDES and People StyleWatch, and digital
giants Yahoo, SELF and WomensHealthMag. Grace’s mission is
to deliver accessible and empowering tips that help people feel
and look their best. You can connect with Grace at www.GraceGold.com or on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @MsGraceGold.
Liam Otero is currently a senior at Rutherford High School.
He is a member of multiple organizations: the Rutherford Civil
Rights Commission, the Rutherford Historic Preservation Society, and the Friends of the Public Library. This will be his third
year volunteering at the Multicultural Festival and he will be
working with Grace Gold in the entertainment segments. While
attending Fordham University in the Fall, he hopes he can continue to lend a helping hand to the Borough of Trees.
Rutherford High School ERASE Club
Mission Statement: ERASE’s primary goal is to
promote social equality and respect between the
diverse groups of people in the school district
and the community alike.
The RHS ERASE (Ending Racism and Sexism
Everywhere) Club is a community service based
group that works to promote social justice in the
school and the Rutherford community. ERASE
addresses any issues pertaining to discrimination and works to resolve these conflicts through diplomatic means. The Club also attends
seminars on social issues and organizes multiple food and coat drives throughout the school
year to donate to poorer school districts. Each year, the ERASE Club plays an integral role
in organizing the annual Rutherford Multicultural Festival and encourages students from all
grade levels to attend in order to have a better understanding of how the town’s diversity.
23
Pierrepont school teacher Margit Smith’s class with assistant principal, Damon Placenti
34
35
2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award
On January 18, Senator Cory Booker was
presented the 2016 Martin Luther King Jr.
Legacy Award by Felician University. The
award is given every year to someone who
embodies the University’s values, mission and
offers hope for all. When speaking about
Senator Booker, Felician University president
Dr. Anne Prisco said his “exemplary service to
the people of New Jersey is marked by a
steadfast commitment to breaking through
bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle to
ensure that the dream of higher education, jobs
and economic well being are realized by all
people.”
After accepting the award, the Senator gave a
passionate speech about kindness and
compassion and told personal stories about how
the two virtues impacted his life while growing
up. He also shared the award with everyone and
said, “While it is truly humbling to be honored Americans who stepped up with extraordinary courage to change the path of a nation.”
by Felician University today, I share this
recognition with the thousands of ordinary
36
37
43
A BRIEF HISTORY OF RUTHERFORD
Rutherford, or the “Borough of Trees”,
was formed on September 21, 1881.
Settled in 1687 by Lenape Native American Indians, the borough of Rutherford
was originally part of area called New
Barbadoes, which was owned by John
Berry. Part of the region was known
as Boiling Springs for a powerful and
ceaseless spring located in the vicinity.
Despite its name, the spring actually consisted of cold groundwater seeps rather
than hot springs. In the 1880s, the land
On September 21, 1881, the
borough of Rutherford was formed and
at the time it had over 1,000 residents.
In 1921, the Rivoli Theater opened as a
vaudville house and was quickly turned
into a movie theater with the growing
popularity of motion pictures. In 1981,
the
Williams Carlos Williams Theater
opened, named after the famous Rutherford poet. In 1961, the Meadowlands
Museum opened and featured local
Rutherford history.
At present, Rutherford now has
over 18,000 residents. In present day,
46
was owned by the estate of John Rutherfurd, a
former New Jersey legislator and state senator.
Daniel Van Winkle opened a real estate office at
Depot Square, which is now Station Square, to
sell property in the area to eager residents.
In the 1870s, the area began to be called
“Rutherford”. The definitive reason for the
change in spelling of the final syllable from
“furd” to “ford” is unknown, though the change
may have been the result of name recognition
of the famous politician Rutherford B Hayes
who was elected to the office of president in
1876.
Rutherford is the home to a wide selection of different cultures and nationalities.
47
49
2016 Community Service Awards
The Reverend Robert F. Browning, Jr. was called to serve
as the Priest-in-Charge at Grace Church in November 2011.
He was then installed as the thirteenth Rector of Grace
Church in November 2014. He began his ordained ministry
as a priest in September, 2006. At that time he was named the
Vicar of St Andrew’s Church in Poughkeepsie, NY. Prior to
entering seminary in 2003, Rev. Browning retired after serving for 29 years in the Harrington Park Public Elementary
School, New Jersey. Throughout his life, Rev. Browning
Reverend Robert F. Browning, Jr.
has held a deep devotion to his faith and call to serve God.
In each parish where he worshipped, he became involved in the mission of that community. He
has served as warden, vestry member, lay reader/chalice bearer, acolyte director, choir member,
church school superintendent and teacher, as well as youth group minister, and chair person of
many parish events including fund raisers. A graduate of New Jersey City University, (BA) he
has achieved two masters degrees, one in education from William Patterson University, and the
second from Virginia Theological Seminary in ministry. Fr. Bob has travelled around the world
having served in the USAF in Vietnam; gone on mission trips to Ethiopia and Haiti; taught in
Egypt for a summer internship, and vacationed in Europe, Central and South America and the
Caribbean. He brings a sense of God’s presence in his life to everyone he meets.
Thank you Fr. Browning, for your caring and dedicated service to our community. We are proud
to have you on our Rutherford Civil Rights Commission.
Bill Einreinhofer is an American television producer,
director and writer. Probably his best-known project was
Beyond Beijing, which was seen by television viewers in 43
countries as a four-part documentary series. Over the course
of his career, Einreinhofer has won numerous awards,
including three Emmy Awards, a CINE Golden Eagle,a
Golden Gate Award from the San Francisco International
Film Festival and a Silver Hugo at the Chicago International
Film Festival. While an executive producer at WNET in
New York, Einreinhofer was responsible for the PBS nonfiction mini-series and specials The Future Is Now, The
Stuff of Dreams and Earth Tech. He is Chair of the
Bill Einreinhofer
Broadcast Journalism department at the New York Film Academy. Previously he was an
adjunct professor in the Communications program at Felician College on their Rutherford, New
Jersey campus. He is the producer/writer of a pro bono series of local oral history videos called
The Rutherford Historical Narratives, created for the Rutherford Civil Rights Commission.
54
55
Rutherford Civil Rights Commission
Helping Our Community
HISTORY:
September 2016 will be the 52th Anniversary of the Rutherford Civil Rights Commission
that was founded by mayor Justin Tokarski and his Council. Former Councilman and
Rutherford Civil Rights Commissione Robert Wesp is one of the funders and pioneers of the
Civil Rights Commission of the State of New Jersey and the only survivor of the founding 1964
Commission. The Civil Rights Commission of Rutherford is the first organization of its kind
in Bergen County. The purpose of the commission is to protect our diverse community’s civil
rights. We put into practive the intent and spirit of the New Jersey law against discrimination as
well as the federal and state civil rights laws.
HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT:
To file a complaint with the Rutherford Civil Rights Commission, you may leave a
message on our voicemail (201) 460-300 ext 108 (English), ext 109 (Spanish), or ext 110
(Italian.) Send us a ltter outlining your complaint, or come to one of our meetings on the last
Wednesday of every month at Borough Hall, 176 Park Avenue, Rutherford, NJ 07070.
The memebers of the 2016 Rutherford Civil Rights Commission and the
2016 Rutherford Multicultural Festival Committee.
HOW DOES THE COMMISSION CARRY OUR ITS GOALS?
Using persuation, conciliation, and appeal to community spirit, the Commission tries to
ensure and strengthen civil rights for all Rutherford residents. The Commission will refer specific discrimination complaints that cannot be resolved locally to the New Jersey Division on
Civil Rights, which has an investivation staff and is responsible for the enforcement of the New
Jersey law Against Discrimination.
MEETINGS:
Rutherford Civil Rights Commission meetings are held the fourth Thursday of the month at
Borough Hall at 7:30pm and are open to the public.
www.rutherfordtogether.com
Dr. Stephanie McGowan,
Councilwoman
Congratulations to the Rutherford Civil Rights Commission on producing another
outstanding Multicultural Festival! I am honored to serve as Council Liaison to this
necessary community organization and look forward to the great work we will continue
to do together moving forward.
“We may have different religions, different languages,
different colored skin,
but we all belong to one human race.” – Kofi Annan
SPECIAL THANKS:
The Borough of Rutherford & the Rutherford Civil Rights Commission
James J. Tedesco 111 - Bergen County Executive
Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders
Joseph DeSalvo Jr. - Mayor of Rutherford
Gordon Stelter - Borough Chief Finance Officer
Police Chief John Russo & the Police Department
Rutherford Heath Department, Rutherford Fire Safety Department
Rutherford Department of Public Works
Barbara Bennett - Director, Rutherford Recreatuion Department
Councilwoman Stephanie McGowen - Liaison
Beatric Goldberg- Chair
Jack Boyle - Vice Chair
Laurie Boyle - Treasurer & Festival Vendor Chair
Joseph Gilhawley - Rutherford Multicultural Festival Web Chair
Guy Tetro - Rutherford Multicultural Festival Graphic Chair & Program Chair
William Einreinhoffer - Rutherford Historical Narratives Chair
Nicholas DiBrita - Rutherford Multicultural Festival Secretary
Stephen Way - Social Media and PR Chair
Father Browning - Interfaith Council
Grace Gold & Liam Otero - Festival Emcees
Renjith Pillai, Reshma Radhakrishnan, Terri Spettell, Mr.s Smith, Jason, Jay & Kathy Delgado,
Ellen Goldy and Andres Ospina Festival Coordinators
E.R.A.S.E. Club, The Academy At Saint Mary, Felician University
Rutherford Public Library & Meadowlands Museum
Superintendent Of Schools, Mr. J. Hurley
Boiling Springs & BCB Rutherford Community Bank - Co Event Sponsors
The South Bergenite - Media Sponsor
The Rutherford Junior Football League
Beer & Wine Garden Sponsor- BCB Rutherford Community Bank
Shop-Rite, Kearny Bank, Lightbridge Academy, Hamptons Vein and Vascular NJ PC
- Children of the World Sponsors
Better Homes & Gardens Coccia Realty, Quality Auto Mall and the Rutherford Education
Association - Talent Sponsors
Our Volunteers, Performers and Vendors
Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State
through grants administered by the Bergen County Department odf Parks, Division of Cultural and Historic
Affairs
58
59