SandSJ’s event brought the candidates before the state’s Black religious leaders to discuss issues specific to the community. Led by Pastor Weldon McWilliams IV, Ph.D., the forum was SandSJ’s first gubernatorial event specifically designed to cater to Black clergy. SandSJ’s forum was a unique opportunity for Black clergy to speak with the candidates vying for New Jersey’s highest office, Boyer said. New Jersey’s Black population, which numbers 1.2 million, is about 13% of the state’s overall population. “I think in some conservative Black spaces, super-conservative Black spaces, the transgender issue may connect,” Boyer continued, “but he hadn’t really been in front of, I think, a significant sampling of the Black church.