Trenton, NJ – The Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dealt New Jersey’s food system a devastating and disappointing blow in March with the cancellation of more than $26 million in funds slated for the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) cooperative agreement programs. These programs, administered by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS), allow organizations like food banks and schools to purchase food directly from local producers.

EDISON, NJ – On April 5th, citizens across the US will participate in rallies and protests as part of the National Hands Off campaign, led by close to 1,000 grassroots and civic organizations. The campaign aims to call attention to what organizers term an“unprecedented government takeover.”

Newark, NJ - Candidates in the 2025 Newark School Board Election declared their campaign positions at a public forum sponsored by the NAACP-Newark on Thursday, March 13. 

Every April, the Newark Board of Education holds an election to select candidates to serve a three-year term with oversight responsibility for the development and approval of regulations for the operations of the overall public school system. 

The explosion ripped through the girls and their surroundings so quickly that, counterintuitively, they never heard the bomb that struck them. It may be of little solace that they were killed quickly, definitively, the brutality of the act limiting their suffering: Overwhelming violence bringing finality to their lives in an instant.

Newark, NJ - The rights of Green Card holders are clearly outlined in writing, by the U.S. government. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services government website, permanent residents have the right to be “protected by all laws of the United States, your state of residence and local jurisdiction.” Further there is decades of precedent confirming the legal rights to free speech and political protest held by permanent residents.

Newark, NJ - Public Square Amplified continued its conversation with Dr. Cofield, asking her to draw parallels between past and present racist practices and to share her thoughts on whether today’s generation has the ability to organize, protest, and effectively fight for their rights.

Newark, NJ - Dr. Willa Cofield describes Enfield, the North Carolina town where she was born and raised, as a close-knit community shaped by familial ties, shared cultural norms, a spirit of entrepreneurship, and the Black church as its anchor.

Public Square Amplified sat down with Cofield to learn more about how she fought for civil rights, and how present-day advocates can learn from her strategies and be inspired by her quiet ferocity.

Newark, NJ - Sunday marks the 197th anniversary of the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States, the origin of today’s Black Press. That paper, The Freedom Journal, was published and distributed on March 16, 1827 from its offices in what is now the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City.

Newark, NJ - In the Part 2 conclusion of that interview, Zeni talks about the joys of filmmaking, her upcoming projects, the intersection of journalism and filmmaking, and what movies she enjoys watching as an up-and-comer in the industry.