Newark is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 311,549, an increase of 34,409 (+12.4%) from the 2010 census count of 277,140, which in turn reflected an increase of 3,594 (+1.3%) from the 273,546 counted in the 2000 census. The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 305,344 for 2022, making it the 66th-most populous municipality in the nation.
The Ironbound is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a large working-class multi-ethnic community, covering approximately 4 square miles (10 km2) of well maintained streets and homes. Historically, the area was called "Dutch Neck," "Down Neck," or simply "the Neck," due to the appearance of the curve of the Passaic River. The Ironbound is part of Newark's East Ward and is directly east of Newark Penn Station and Downtown Newark, and south and west of the river, over which passes the Jackson Street Bridge, connecting to Harrison and Kearny. The area became a major transmission "hotspot" of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020.
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in Downtown Newark in Newark, New Jersey, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than nine million visitors have visited the center since it opened in October 1997 on the site of the former Military Park Hotel.
Kenneth Allen Gibson was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 36th mayor of Newark, New Jersey, from 1970 to 1986. He was the first African American elected mayor of any major city in the Northeastern United States.
Lincoln Park is a city square and neighborhood, also known as "the Coast," in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is bounded by the Springfield/Belmont, South Broad Valley, South Ironbound and Downtown neighborhoods. It is bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. to the west, West Kinney St. to the north, the McCarter Highway to the east and South St., Pennsylvania Avenue, Lincoln Park and Clinton Avenue to the south. Part of the neighborhood is a historic district listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places. Lincoln Park as a street turns into Clinton Avenue toward the south and north edge of the park.
Amiri Baraka, previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous books of poetry and taught at several universities, including the University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University. He received the PEN/Beyond Margins Award in 2008 for Tales of the Out and the Gone. Baraka's plays, poetry, and essays have been described by scholars as constituting defining texts for African-American culture.
Military Park is a 6-acre (24,000 m2) city park in Downtown Newark in Newark, New Jersey. Along with Lincoln Park and Washington Park, it makes up the three downtown parks in Newark that were laid out in the colonial era. It is a nearly triangular park located between Park Place, Rector Street and Broad Street.
Established in April 1857, the Newark Police Department (NPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving Newark, New Jersey and the largest municipal law enforcement agency in New Jersey. As of December 2017 the force had 1,146 officers.
Prudential Financial is based in Newark, New Jersey. It began as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society in 1875, and for a short time it was called the Prudential Friendly Society. For many years after 1877 it was known as the Prudential Insurance Company of America, a name still widely in use. The company has constructed a number of buildings to house its offices in downtown in the Four Corners district. In addition to its own offices, the corporation has financed large projects in the city, including Gateway Center and Prudential Center. Prudential has over 5,000 employees in the city.
Ras Jua Baraka is an American educator, author, and politician who is the 40th and current Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He was previously a member of the Municipal Council of Newark and the principal of the city's Central High School until he took an indefinite leave of absence to run for the 2014 Newark mayoral election, which he won on May 13, 2014. Baraka was sworn in as the city's 40th mayor at ceremonies at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on July 1, 2014, for a four-year term. He won re-election twice in 2018 and 2022.
The 2014 Newark mayoral election took place in Newark, the most populous city in New Jersey, on May 13, 2014. The race was characterized as a contest between two candidates, Ras Baraka and Shavar Jeffries, both from Newark's South Ward. Elections for all seats on the nine member Municipal Council of Newark also took place. Luis A. Quintana, who had become Mayor of Newark following the resignation of Cory Booker, did not seek the seat.
Sparky J's, previously known as the Cadillac Club, was a popular jazz club in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Sparky J's often featured soul jazz or funky jazz best exemplified by the organ combo, a band usually consisting of a Hammond B-3 organist, a saxophonist, a drummer, and a guitarist. The club was located in downtown Newark, on the corner of Halsey and William streets. This area known locally as the "Jazz Corner of the World" in the 70s because it contained two jazz clubs: Spark J's and Key Club. Both clubs closed in the 1970s, and they were the last full-time jazz clubs in the area at the time of closing. While Key Club was free entry, Sparky J's charged admission.
The Harlem Book Fair is the United States' largest African-American book fair and the nation’s flagship Black literary event. Held annually in Harlem, New York, the Harlem Book Fair features exhibition booths, panel discussions, book sales, and workshops. Notable authors participating have included Cornel West, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Walter Mosley, Terry McMillan, Touré, Farai Chideya, Stanley Crouch, Nelson George, Mark Anthony Neal.
Mulberry Commons is a public park in Newark, New Jersey. It was first proposed in 2005 to be the centerpiece of 22-acre (8.9 ha) of the city's Downtown surrounded by Gateway Center, Newark Penn Station, Government Center and Prudential Center, a 19,000 seat arena which opened in 2007. The city had acquired the deed to the park land in conjunction with the construction of the arena, but the project had not been further developed.
Clement Alexander Price was an American historian. As the Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of History at Rutgers University-Newark, Price brought his study of the past to bear on contemporary social issues in his adopted hometown of Newark, New Jersey, and across the nation. He was the founding director of the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at Rutgers; the vice chair of President Barack Obama's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the chair of Obama's transition team for the National Endowment for the Humanities; a member of the Scholarly Advisory Committee of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture; and a trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
"Balozi" Robert Zayd Muhammad Harvey was an American diplomat, community organizer, activist and executive director, based in New Jersey and New York. Balozi worked both domestically and internationally toward the growth and betterment of African-American communities in the U.S. while fostering relationships with Caribbean and African Nations. Harvey was given the title "Balozi" in Tanzania by President Julius K. "Mwalimu" Nyerere in 1964. "Balozi" means "ambassador" or "statesman" in Swahili.
Akintola Hanif is an American photographer based in Newark, New Jersey.
