Newark, NJ – Established by the Smithsonian Institution in 2001 to highlight and celebrate the rich history of jazz music and its cultural significance, Jazz Appreciation Month was chosen to coincide with the birth month of one of jazz's most iconic figures, Duke Ellington. The purpose of Jazz Appreciation Month is to honor jazz as a uniquely American art form and to acknowledge its global influence.

West Orange, NJ - New Jerseyans are frightened and furious by the Trump Administration's attempt to cut funding to the United States’ Medicaid program. This backlash reached an apex on February 25th, when the House Republicans' voted to enforce these cuts.

Trenton, NJ – The Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dealt New Jersey’s food system a devastating and disappointing blow in March with the cancellation of more than $26 million in funds slated for the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) cooperative agreement programs. These programs, administered by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS), allow organizations like food banks and schools to purchase food directly from local producers.

EDISON, NJ – On April 5th, citizens across the US will participate in rallies and protests as part of the National Hands Off campaign, led by close to 1,000 grassroots and civic organizations. The campaign aims to call attention to what organizers term an“unprecedented government takeover.”

Newark, NJ - Candidates in the 2025 Newark School Board Election declared their campaign positions at a public forum sponsored by the NAACP-Newark on Thursday, March 13. 

Every April, the Newark Board of Education holds an election to select candidates to serve a three-year term with oversight responsibility for the development and approval of regulations for the operations of the overall public school system. 

Newark, NJ - No matter how much the greedy, racist bosses of the U.S. try to keep us demoralized and cynical, the faint heartbeat of class struggle persists, reminding those of us who are activists that we are indeed on the “right side of history.” 

The explosion ripped through the girls and their surroundings so quickly that, counterintuitively, they never heard the bomb that struck them. It may be of little solace that they were killed quickly, definitively, the brutality of the act limiting their suffering: Overwhelming violence bringing finality to their lives in an instant.

Newark, NJ - The rights of Green Card holders are clearly outlined in writing, by the U.S. government. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services government website, permanent residents have the right to be “protected by all laws of the United States, your state of residence and local jurisdiction.” Further there is decades of precedent confirming the legal rights to free speech and political protest held by permanent residents.

Newark, NJ - Public Square Amplified continued its conversation with Dr. Cofield, asking her to draw parallels between past and present racist practices and to share her thoughts on whether today’s generation has the ability to organize, protest, and effectively fight for their rights.