Audrey Rowe has been such a force behind the South Orange-Maplewood Community Coalition on Race for 23 years, that when she retires at the end of this month, they are replacing her with two people.
“I fully expect that we will need at least two, and possibly three, people to ensure the organization’s engagement and even recruitment, stays at the level she’s brought us to,” said Mark Mucci, a former board member who has volunteered for CCR for about 20 years. “Her role is as the catalyst for the work that needs to get done — enabling people to learn how to do this work and encouraging us to help direct the conversation.”
Indeed, Rowe, as program director for the Coalition, has played an integral role in its biggest initiatives and events since 2001, committed to building and sustaining a racially, culturally, socially integrated and inclusive community.
“With all due respect to everyone, Audrey is really the heart and soul of the Coalition,” said Barbara Velazquez, who joined the Coalition in 2013. “She’s so dedicated and hard working. It’s a real joy to work with her.”
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For her part, Rowe says, the last 23 years with the Coalition have been the most rewarding of her career, which has also included stints at AT&T and Mary Kay skin care and cosmetics.
Through the Coalition, Rowe developed unique programs including Integration Through the Arts, which brings people together through art; the Wealth Gap Equalizer Loan, a program to incentivize homeowners of color to move to the area; studies of demographic shifts in the two towns; and she organized the Coalition’s annual Conversations on Race and its Dr. Martin Luther King Observance. She has also co-led anti-racism and anti-bias trainings and trained volunteers to facilitate discussions about race.
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“The demographics study was important because it gave us data to work with. And the equalizer loan is really important to me because it’s a tangible way to actually make a difference and make it count,” she said. “Am I’m also really proud of the mural at The Baird and the other work we did through Integration Through the Arts.”
Reflecting on all that Rowe has done for the community, Maplewood Mayor Nancy Adams said she expects a Township Committee proclamation in Rowe’s honor in the New Year. “The success and longevity of the Community Coalition on Race is directly related to the work and commitment of Audrey Rowe during her tenure,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to imagine what the organization would have been without her.”
This mural at The Baird was created by CCR’s Integration Through the Arts program, which brings together professional artists and people of different races to work together on projects. (Photo courtesy of Audrey Rowe)
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Even with all her accomplishments through the years, Rowe said, the strength of the Coalition on Race lies in its people and their desire to keep working toward integration, unity and equity in Maplewood and South Orange.
“It’s bigger than any one individual,” she said. “And two people have been added to do what I was doing.”
Rowe and her husband, Abdul Alim Mubarak, have two daughters, Panya, a social worker, and Solana, known to most of the world as Grammy winning R&B superstar SZA. When SZA started traveling all over the world for tours and shows and attending awards shows, she wanted her parents to come along, Rowe said. Sometimes that has worked out, and, sometimes, because of her work at the Coalition, it hasn’t, Rowe said.
With retirement, Rowe plans on doing more traveling with her daughter. (SZA kicks off a new tour in 2025 that Rowe wants to be a part of.) So a year ago, she let Executive Director Nancy Gagnier know that her last day would be Dec. 31, 2024. But, Rowe said, she’ll remain involved. Continuing the conversation on race and equity is too important not to.
“It was a matter of coming to the realization that I’m not immortal,” Rowe said. “I forget that time is moving fast, and I want to be able to enjoy my life and my family while I’m still in my prime.”
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In mid-December, when her retirement was just two weeks away, Rowe was still fielding calls and texts, making appointments and organizing the upcoming event for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Observance in January. She admits, shifting gears after the first of the year will be her challenge.
“I could never retire with a big R. I’ll still be involved in some way, shape or form,” she said. “But this gives me the opportunity to step back and be more intentional with my time.”
CCR Executive Director Nancy Gagnier, who has worked with Rowe at the Coalition since 2008 and was friends with Rowe before that through service on the SOMA Adult School Board, said Rowe has a “can-do attitude” and “is creative in trying new ways to bring people together.”
Audrey Rowe, left, and Nancy Gagnier (shown here at Rowe’s retirement party in mid-December), have worked at the Coalition together since 2008. (Photo by Mason Levinson)
“She is so devoted to the mission of racial integration, equity, and inclusion,” Gagnier said. “She is one the most optimistic people I know — obstacles and naysayers do not get in her way.”
Rowe’s legacy of dedication to integration and equity is an example for those carrying on her good work, Gagnier said. “She has left her mark on me, the organization, the volunteers, and our new staff members.”
