While New Jersey has strong legal protections for the right to reproductive autonomy and abortion care, reproductive justice advocates say that doesn’t mean everyone has equal access to abortion—especially those in disenfranchised, low wealth and under-resourced communities and women of color regardless of income level.

It's been a year since Justin Rodwell was detained at Essex County Correctional Facility. Arrested after an incident described in the media as a "mob" attack on police, Rodwell maintains that he acted in self-defense. In the past year, he's missed precious moments with his children: His daughter's first prom and eighth grade graduation, his toddler's first steps. And he is missed by family and friends who continue to call for their loved one's immediate release.

It was emotionally climatic for the small caravan of activists chanting "Justice for Justin" to hear the voice many have not heard for over a year. “I thank y'all for y'all support,” said Justin Rodwell over the phone. “Thank you a hundred percent.”

TRENTON—Despite a ban on racial profiling in policing in New Jersey, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in January that law enforcement cannot stop people because of their race, ethnicity or gender, overturning the conviction of two Black men accused of robbing a 7-Eleven in 2011. The incident highlights the issue of racial profiling in law enforcement.

Nationally, low-income families face deep inequality, low wages, collapsed jobs and more. These families braced the economic consequences of the global pandemic and now prepare for the impact of inflation. According to the Poor People’s Campaign, “Rising inequality is associated with slower overall economic growth and more persistent poverty.”

BRIDGEWATER—Dozens braved the March chill on Saturday morning for the second rally organized by the Peoples Organization for Progress in support of 14-year-old Z'Kye Husain. Protesters marched from the Bridgewater police station to the Bridgewater Commons Mall in Somerset County to denounce the arrest of Husain when police broke up a fight between Husain and another teen at the mall in February.

NEWARK—Monique Rodwell sat in Essex County courtroom 1102 on Thursday morning, awaiting yet another court proceeding. Her son Justin Rodwell — currently detained — and his three brothers, Branden Rodwell, Jaykil Rodwell, and Jasper Spivey, accompanied by their attorneys, appeared to hear any outstanding discovery demands, plea negotiations, or motions on the four cases against them.

MONTCLAIR-NEWARK, NJ—On Friday, Oct. 8, members and supporters of the People's Organization for Progress, or POP, began their 'Long March for Justice' in Montclair. The 67-mile march will span 22 towns and cities and culminate in Trenton on Saturday, Oct. 16. With the support of organizations including Newark Communities for Accountable Policing, Black Lives Matter of NJ, the National Action Network's Atlantic City Chapter, and the Trenton Anti-Violence Coalition, POP is marching for police accountability and social justice, and economic progress.

In this interview, Public Square co-founder Linda M. Carter speaks to Matthew Barry Johnson, Associate Professor of Psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, about the impact of the 2016 consent decree in the City of Newark, related criminal justice issues of interrogation, confessions, and wrongful convictions, and how police reforms can help build community trust.