Placing stories in historical context and engaging young journalists in social justice movements to better understand issues and to write as a participant rather than a spectator are central elements of Public Square Amplified’s emancipatory journalism mission. A talk co-sponsored by NJ Urban News and Public Square Amplified and held on International Women’s Day, March 8, served as the basis to allow young journalists to examine the elements of emancipatory journalism.

Essex County College kicked off its inaugural Juneteenth event on Thursday, June 15, the start of three days of educational and cultural activities, all located on the Newark campus in the heart of downtown Newark.

To kick off the events, Dr. Akil Khalfani, director of the college’s Africana Institute, moderated a panel discussion on the historical significance of Juneteenth and its importance to the ongoing contemporary struggle for economic and racial justice. Panelists included Dr. Angela R. Garretson of the New Jersey Institute for Technology and Lawrence Hamm, the chairman of the People's Organization for Progress.

The commission and the revealing of the Harriet Tubman monument in what is now, the Harriet Tubman Square, marks a point in our country’s evolution. The monument, entitled a Shadow of a Face, by architect Nina Cooke John, represents a turning point in thought that recognizes that memorials, statues, and monuments should be inspirational.