"Years ago, during a meeting with The Record editorial board, I recall then-Mayor Cory Booker almost tearing up as he told stories of an elementary school in one of Newark’s poorest neighborhoods. The school lacked resources, he said, and was in physical disrepair due to neglect. He related how “it breaks my heart to walk into a classroom and see the children stand, put hands to their hearts and say the Pledge of Allegiance, say the words ‘liberty and justice for all’ and to know that it’s a lie.” It was his way of saying that despite strides, we still suffer the effects of a great racial divide, and from income inequality. That divide, that inequality, are still with us, and they were seared into Booker’s mind and heart again on Wednesday as he testified before a House subcommittee to speak in favor of reparations for slavery. “I say that I am brokenhearted and angry right now... (about) decades of living in a community where you see how deeply unfair this nation is still, to so many people who struggle, who work hard, who do everything right but who still find themselves, disproportionately, with lead in their water, Superfunds in their neighborhoods, schools that don’t serve their genius, and health care disparities that affect their body and their well-being.”"