You can’t watch Kenya Moncur-Whitaker’s portrayal of Walter Lee Younger in a recent production of A Raisin in the Sun and not feel something. Sitting in the audience and hearing his vision of a bright future for his son – a future filled with hope and abundant resources–connects with any parent or person who has faced the same circumstances.

In a world of overconsumption and indulgence in manufactured social media pictorials, photojournalism reminds us of the power of images that force us to wrestle with our shared human story that often suffers distraction by the filtered selfie. Why is photojournalism so powerful? A large part of the answer may rest in research by neuroscientists that one-quarter of our brain is visual perception. This is how photojournalists have the power to deconstruct barriers of entry that may exist in the written narrative—they can capture moments that affirm our shared humanity.

Julio C. Roman grew up in the Newark of the 1990s, a treacherous and unmerciful city riddled with gang violence, narcotics, a continuing HIV/AIDS epidemic, and intense living conditions in the assisted housing communities like the Stella Right’s Projects where Roman resided. Feeling alone, misunderstood, and fearful of the hate crimes so frequently aimed at himself and others like him, Roman took it upon himself to create a community of love, safety, and understanding in an often-unloving world.

If you are not familiar with the artist, Jerry Gant was a multi-disciplined visual artist, teacher, mentor, and activist. In the '80s, at the start of his career, you could find him in New York City tagging buildings along with the likes of Jean Michael Basquiat. Over the years, he created work that reflected many of the particulars of his own life as a Black male growing up in Newark and was motivated by a profound and genuine desire to truly know and understand the human condition. For Jerry, life and art were inextricably linked.

Terence Blanchard broke paradigms Monday night at the Metropolitan Opera house. Fire Shut Up In My Bones shook the shingles off the rooftop and opened up a skylight: and the long list of ancestors of that very stage dropped in and hoovered ever so close over the spectacle of a symphony resplendent in all the grace and elegance that perfect solitude seeks.

Curator and historian Noelle Lorraine Williams seeks to educate and remind Newark residents of their history—one filled with striving and rebellion. Her recent exhibition, Black Power! 19th Century, on display at the Newark Public Library from July 9 through Sept.1, revisits Black activism in Newark. In an interview with Public Square, Williams discussed the exhibit and her plans to reach others beyond Newark through her art and research.