Check Your Misconceptions At The Door: New Film Offers An Eye-Opening Look At New Jerseys Largest City

A new film about Newark, to be broadcast in October, will change that. The Once and Future Newark, a documentary hosted by famed historian Clement A. Price, will premiere on NJN Public Television in New Jersey on Oct. 4, at 6:30 p.m., and will be rebroadcast on Oct. 5 at 9 p.m. The film, which was produced by Rutgers University, Newark in association with Blackbird Media Group, also will be previewed at Rutgers- Newark on Sat. Oct. 1, and on Wed., Oct. 4, featuring a Q & A with Dr. Price (See biography on page 3).

The program follows Price as the Newark resident tours the city with colleagues, visiting 18 historical, cultural, and in some cases, uniquely Newark sites. These include Branch Brook Park, the Ironbound, Weequahic High School,

the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Essex County Courthouse, and the Newark campus of Rutgers, where Price is Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor specializing in urban history, African-American history and New Jersey and Newark history. The film also incorporates a treasure trove of historical images.

Price has led tours of Newark for decades, inspiring students, educators and many others to be fascinated by Newarks past and the promises of its future. Many who tour the city with Price have gone on to develop a personal connection and active interest in Newark.

"The growing interest in the new Newark that is taking shape has truly heartened my role as a New Jersey and public historian, Professor Price noted. The film enables me to reach thousands of people who live, work and study in Newark, those who left the city years ago and, to be sure, those who deserve an opportunity to better understand New Jersey's largest and most important regional center."

The film is part travelogue, part documentary and part history lesson, explains Helen Paxton, the films producer and director of communications at Rutgers-Newark. The goal is to engage viewers interest for personal exploration and discovery.

Steven J. Diner, provost of Rutgers University in Newark comments that Rutgers has always viewed the city of Newark as one of our greatest educational assets. By showcasing the citys rich history and resources, The Once and Future Newark should help spread the good word about Newark far beyond this university campus and the citys borders, Diner explains.

In addition to the NJN broadcasts on Oct. 4 and 5 (check local listings for broadcast channels, or visit www.njn.net) free campus screenings are scheduled for Oct. 1 and Oct. 4. On Oct. 1, a continuous screening of the half hour film will run from 11 a.m. 5 p.m. in the Paul Robeson Gallery, as part of the Rutgers-Newark Homecoming celebration. The Oct. 4 presentation will be in Room 100 of Conklin Hall at 2:30 p.m and will feature a Q & A with Dr. Price. The gallery is in the Paul Robeson Campus Center, first floor, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., while Conklin Hall is at 175 University Ave.

For additional information on the film, including information on how to purchase the DVD, please visit rutgers-newark.

About Clement Alexander Price

Professor Clement A. Price, Ph.D., is a member of the department of history at Rutgers University in Newark. He has taught urban history, public history, African-American history and the history of New Jersey for over three decades at Rutgers.

In 1999 Price was named CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Professor of the Year for New Jersey, and more recently he earned one of the highest faculty honors at the university when he was named Board

of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of History.

The latter honor noted Prices dedication to the ideas of community, and his sustained impact on the development of cultural, civic, educational and academic institutions in the City of Newark and the State of New Jersey and his unwavering commitment to the communities in which he lives, and his concern for social justice.

In addition to his teaching, service and research at Rutgers, Price has played leadership roles with many organizations in New Jersey, including the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Fund for New Jersey, the Newark public schools, the Newark Black Film Festival, and the Governors Commission on Ellis Island. Price is widely known as the preeminent scholar of Newarks social history, and he is a longtime resident of the city.

Price is the founder and director of the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience, which conducts research and presents innovative public programs on a wide range of topics of concern to New Jerseys citizens. For more information on Price, visit price

Production credits

Executive Producer: Helen Paxton, Director of Communications, Rutgers-Newark

Film Director, Editor: Mike Podolski, Blackbird Media Group, State College, Pa.

Audio: Trace Brown, Blackbird Media Group

Camera: Jeff Preston, Michael Schafer, Blackbird Media Group

Asst. Producer, Graphic Designer: Eleonora Luongo, Rutgers-Newark

Music: Professors Henry Martin and Lewis Porter, Rutgers-Newark Dept. of Music

Newark Locations Featured in the Film

Branch Brook Park

Broad Street Station

Casa Vasca restaurant in the Ironbound section

City of Newark along the Passaic River

Essex County Courthouse

Historic Houses in the North Ward

Lincoln Park

New Housing in the Central Ward

New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Newark Museum

Newark Police Fourth Precinct House

Newark Public Library

New Jersey Historical Society

Old Prince St. Synagogue/Greater Newark Conservancy Urban Environmental Center

Peddie Memorial Baptist Church

Penn Station

Riverfront Stadium

Rutgers University

Sacred Heart Basilica

Weequahic High School

Weequahic Park

Photo of Professor Clement Alexander Price by Art Paxton; download available at pricephoto .

Paul Robeson Campus Center and Conklin Hall are wheelchair-accessible, as is the Rutgers-Newark campus. Rutgers-Newark can be reached by New Jersey Transit buses and trains, the PATH train and Amtrak from New York City, and by Newark City Subway. Metered parking is available on University Avenue and at Rutgers-Newark's public parking garage, at 200 University Ave. Printable campus maps and driving directions are available online at: maps