EAST ORANGE, NJ — On Monday, Oct. 9, the news broke that East Orange native economist Richard Thaler had been awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics.
Eleven days later, Essex County Surrogate Judge Ted Stephens hosted a press conference in Cicely Tyson School of the Performing and Fine Arts to announce the creation of a new East Orange Hall of Fame and said Thaler is worthy of induction to it. Thaler was awarded the 2017 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, who earned his fortune making weapons of war and munitions, but donated it to charity in perpetuity, after his death.
Thaler is the Charles R. Walgreen distinguished service professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of the bestselling books “Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics” and “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”
Thaler’s research investigates the implications of relaxing the standard economic assumption that everyone in the economy is rational and selfish, instead entertaining the possibility some of the agents in the economy are sometimes human, and he is known for creating easy-to-understand scenarios, which show how human behavior often contradicts traditional economic logic.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored Thaler with the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics “for his contributions to behavioral economics,” a relatively new field that bridges the gap between economics and psychology. But Thaler won’t be inducted into the new East Orange Hall of Fame this year.
The inaugural East Orange Hall of Fame class includes: actor John Amos, rap group Naughty By Nature, singers Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick, rapper Dana “Queen Latifah” Owens, Dr. Zain Abdullah, Kathy Baker, Linda Baker, Toya Beasley, Paulette Bigelow, Clyde Bradshaw, Mike Brown, Brigadier Gen. Richard Cardillo, Judge Robert Carter, Michael Dabney, Robert Davenport, Gale Fitzgerald, Mayor William S. Hart, Fred Hill, John Hooper, Gary Garland Houston, David “Chip” Humphrey, Greg James, Baruti Kafele, Dr. James Oliver, Scott Patterson, Jerome Pierce, Col. Clyde Richards, Glenn F. Scotland, Fidelia Sturdivant, Norman Tate, Al Volpe, Janice Walker, Darryl White and the Rev. Russell White. The categories for the East Orange Hall of Fame are: arts and entertainment, athletics, law and government, education, science and industry, and civic affairs and health care.
“There’s no question about it that Richard Thaler is worthy of inclusion in this Hall of Fame,” said Stephens on Friday, Oct. 20. “The number of individuals that could and should be included in this Hall of Fame numbers in the hundreds. But what kind of show could you have with that many people?”
Stephens said Thaler and many other worthy East Orange Hall of Fame nominees won’t be included in the inaugural class on Saturday, Nov. 25, but now that it has been established, there is always room for more inductees, especially once the East Orange Hall of Fame Committee finds a suitable building to use as its home. It is currently in the process of locating and obtaining a site to house the new Hall of Fame.
“There are 35 worthy individuals, who are desirous and worthy to be in the first Hall of Fame class. There are hundreds, if not more than that, of individuals who are hall of fame-worthy individuals,” said Stephens. “Our inaugural class was, with some difficulty, limited to 35 individuals. We’re having a difficult time having 35 individuals grace us with their presence on this stage. Having any more than that would be very, very difficult.”
City Council Chairman Ted Green and Superintendent of East Orange Public Schools Kevin West joined Stephens onstage for the new East Orange Hall of Fame announcement on Friday, Oct. 20. The judge also thanked Mayor Lester Taylor and the other city council members for their support, saying, “It’s impossible to do anything of this magnitude without having the entire support of our city, especially our city fathers, so to speak.”
“On behalf of the members of the East Orange Hall of Fame Committee, our inaugural East Orange Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. at this state-of-the-art site,” said Stephens. “I am pleased, as chairman, to sit here today, as a proud native of the city of East Orange, to share with you a culmination of a long-awaited — and let me repeat that, long awaited — and frankly long overdue effort to establish a repository to honor this city’s proud heritage. This is truly a milestone occasion to pay tribute to the pioneering legacy of innovation and achievement that is deeply embedded in our cultural heritage in the great city of East Orange.”
“The establishment of the East Orange Hall of Fame provides a portal and a lens through which we can share an authentic and compelling narrative, to tell it like it is about the grand and glorious past of the people, the places and the institutions that have placed our community at the forefront of national and global recognition,” said Stephens. “As we all know, the natives from East Orange don’t always stay in East Orange. But wherever they go, nationally or internationally, they make (an) impact everywhere they go. Everywhere, people know the city of East Orange.”
For more information about the new East Orange Hall of Fame and the inaugural induction on Saturday, Nov. 25, call 973-302-8319, email submit@eohof.org or visit the official website at www.eohof.org. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit youth development and cultural enhancement activities in East Orange. Tickets and reservations to the event can be found at Eventbrite.com.
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