The Newark LGBTQ Film Festival is hosting its second annual event on Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28. The weekend will be filled with a full line up of films, panels, and special events at various venues throughout downtown Newark, all celebrating LGBTQ BIPOC films and filmmakers who are often overlooked in mainstream media. The Newark LGBTQ Community Center, one of the sponsors for the film festival, launched in 2013 in response to the stabbing of Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old lesbian, who was murdered in Downtown Newark after refusing the advances of a young man. Twenty years after her ..read more

Newark Arts High School is lauded as the first formed public school in the United States to specialize in visual and performance arts curriculum. It opened in 1931 and served as the model for the ‘famed’ High School of Performing Arts in New York City. The rigorous curriculum is intended to “train students with a sense of harmony, form, rhythm, design, color, movement, and theater,” according to the school’s philosophy. The school has a competitive audition and enrollment process that is open to all high school aged students living in Newark. Look at a few of those students who made it in! MIC ..read more

When global consulting firm McKinsey & Company decided to consolidate its New Jersey offices, the partners confidently decided on Newark. “We want to invest where it matters,” Jeff Lewis, McKinsey’s senior partner in New Jersey told Real Estate New Jersey. “We think Newark matters to New Jersey—it’s New Jersey’s largest city and it represents entrepreneurship, resilience and diversity.” As Newark continues to redefine its identity as a viable city, businesses are taking notice and relocating to the downtown area. The downtown district is home to several corporate headquarters such as Audib ..read more

Newark Beth Israel has one of the nation’s top 15 heart transplant centers Less than 3% of cardiologists in the U.S. are African American but you don’t have to look any further than Newark, New Jersey if you are in the market for a heart doctor who may be culturally aware. Dr. Matthew Montgomery specializes in advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, heart transplantation and coronary interventions at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center’s Advanced Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Program. Kimberly Prime, whose husband Fredrick was a patient at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center ..read more

Newark’s Vibrant Cultural Diversity Swaddles the City in Prolific Street Art Artists have been busier than ever creating spirited public art works throughout Newark for the enjoyment of residents, commuters, and visitors. Here is a roundup of 10 must-see murals created in Newark in the last 12 months that reflect the city’s cultural diversity and tell stories relevant to the community. 1 – “Black Newark” (2023) Artist: GAIA and Ernest Shaw Location: Newark Symphony Hall  Baltimore-based GAIA and Ernest Shaw’s mural honors performing artists who have contributed to the rich legacy of the ..read more

Looking for Cocktails?  Marcus B&P (now known as Vibe BBQ)Historic Hahne & Co Building  56 Halsey St Newark, NJ 07102 Along with provisions curated by renowned Chef Marcus Samuelsson, comes a vast selection of what the patrons in Newark rate some of the best cocktails in town. Some of Marcus B&P’s cocktails include the “Halsey Hooch,” made with bourbon, Ethiopian honey wine, lemon, and blackberry; the “James Baldwin,” made with, cognac, kahula, espresso, and demerara sugar, and the “All The Smoke,” made with tequila, pineapple, lime, and jalapeño. Beyond the cocktails, h ..read more

Kim Baker was once a tall, lanky girl with high cheekbones living in ­Newark’s Brick Towers. At the age of nine, Baker would admire her grandmother’s beauty while also watching black women such as ­Diahnn Carroll on Dynasty. By 13, Baker says her mother found a photographer and organized a photoshoot. The photos landed Baker with model representation. By the time she graduated from Newark Arts High School, she had regular modeling work and had appeared in Essence magazine. It seemed that Baker was on the rise in the fashion world and then a quick turn of events almost derailed it all. In 1988 ..read more

Name: Tamarah Garvin Favorite Hangout: The Hubb Age: 15 High School: Newark Vocational   Organization: The HUBB When school lets out at Newark ­Vocational  High School, students head in many ­directions. But, sophomore ­Tamarah Garvin heads to the Help Us Become Better Arts and Trauma ­Center, better known as The HUBB.  Garvin joined The HUBB in September 2023 at the encouragement of her aunt, who realized the 15-year-old needed more structure. “When I came here, they greeted me like family,” she said. “It only gets better.” Everyday Garvin joins other teens and participate ..read more

Dr. Likhitha Musunuru Drinking water is not just for summertime. During this fall and winter season, be sure to stay hydrated. It regulates body temperature, helps with digestion, delivers nutrients to cells, cushions your organs and joints and helps your body get rid of waste. Additionally, a study by the ­National Institutes of Health suggests that adults who stay well-hydrated live longer, appear to be happier and develop ­fewer chronic conditions. Dr. Likhitha Musunuru of RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group offers these 5 helpful tips to stay hydrated and healthy: Daily, men should drink at ..read more

I was hired to teach journalism at Rutgers University-­Newark two years ago. A month before classes were to begin, while navigating around the Rutgers website, I realized the Institute of Jazz Studies—one of the world’s largest archives devoted to the genre—was on campus. Writing occasionally about jazz over the last two decades, I thought to myself: “I’m going to like this job!”   I figured out a way to work into my syllabus a visit to the Institute at the fourth floor of Dana Library, where visitors can find Miles Davis’s trumpet, Billie Holiday’s jewelry and Ella Fitzgerald’s wig ..read more