The past five years have seen a historic surge in anti-racist activism, including the removal of racist symbols from urban spaces across the country. As Confederate monuments were removed and major streets decorated in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, the city of Newark has had its own reckoning with space and representation. In 2018, a monument to immigrants was erected in Peter Francisco … Continue reading Statues and Limitations
By John Ward “Hello, welcome. What can I help you find today?” When you enter CoolVines Newark, inside the downtown’s Hahne Building, you will hear this greeting. It is a quick way to welcome and engage our customers to start talking about the products that most interest them. It is an interaction that happens all day every day, a phrase repeated so often that it becomes … Continue reading “Where are The Black Winemakers?”
By mantunes I have pretty much eliminated indoor dining from my list of outside-the-apartment activities. When I do indulge, however, I go to Sihana. Comfy in my seat in the back corner, surrounded by a display of vinyl record album covers, a synthetic fire, and art from Newark artists, I feel at home at Newark’s newest place to eat and hang out. Sihana is a … Continue reading Sihana
By Myles Zhang “The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, 1850 When citizens convened in 1836 to incorporate Newark as … Continue reading “Where Evil Dwells”
In the wake of mass protests of police violence, Newark received national attention for its ongoing efforts to reform its police department. Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose is optimistic the city will emerge as a model for others to follow. We spoke to Peter Chen, city resident and attorney interested in police reform, and Rashawn Davis, who worked with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) … Continue reading Perspectives on Police Reform
By Sharon Adarlo The drunk humid air can make one mad. Heat like a viper grasped and coiled around dark city streets and needled into the cracks of windows, doors and faded vinyl siding. Strange times, strange things were brewing in the blackness, in the brackish river. The moon was big and white. Its spectral light cast upon nearly empty roads and highways. How many … Continue reading Deep The River
Originally from Union City, NJ, Gonzalo Silva started djing at 9 years old. 10 years later, he became a professional known for playing upbeat music with a global appeal. You may have seen him spinning familiar tunes with different rhythms at Newark First Fridays events in Military Park and QXT’s Nightclub. We’ve included a custom mix from Silva for you to groove to while we … Continue reading Mixology with DJ Gonzalo Silva
Planned and built by the Gilded Age’s wealthy industrialists of the Ballantine, Clark, Heller and Tiffany families in the late 1800s-early 1900s, Forest Hill originally served as a park side refuge from the hustle and bustle of downtown. Today, the Forest Hill Historic District is a standout example of historical preservation that has kept many of the neighborhood’s grandest features, while integrating diverse residents in … Continue reading Forest Hill: Past and Present
Noelle Lorraine Williams lives and works in Newark, NJ. She is a public humanities specialist whose work spans several different media including photography, glass bead embroidery and video. She is also a researcher, curator and writer. Her work examines the ways African Americans utilize culture to imagine liberation in the United States and has been reviewed in the Star-Ledger, New York Times, ArtNews, and other … Continue reading Interview with Noelle Lorraine Williams
Residents of Forest Hill have been contacted about using their homes as locations for a new season of Hulu’s “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” and CBS’ upcoming series “The Equalizer,” starring Newark/East Orange native Queen Latifah. In late 2019, Halle Berry was seen in and around Lower Broadway’s Elite Heat Boxing Gym while filming her directorial debut “Bruised.” Due to the work of New Jersey Motion … Continue reading Newark on Screen
