New Film “The Once and Future Newark”
Premieres on NJN Public Television
Featuring Dr. Clement Price of Rutgers-Newark
Airing October 4 at 6:30 pm and October 5 at 9:00 pm

Trenton, NJ – NJN Public Television is proud to premiere The Once and Future Newark, a documentary that takes viewers on a fascinating tour of this important New Jersey city. Hosted by famed historian Clement A. Price of Newark, The Once and Future Newark premieres on NJN on Wednesday, October 4 at 6:30 pm, and will be rebroadcast on Thursday, October 5 at 9:00 pm. The half-hour film, produced by Rutgers University, Newark in association with Blackbird Media Group, follows Price as he leads tour groups through 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 the Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor with an extensive background 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
Newark’s 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. (See Price biography below.)

“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 film’s producer and Director of Communications at Rutgers-Newark. “The goal is to engage viewers’ interest for personal exploration and discovery.”

“Newark is one of our greatest assets as an institution of higher learning,” notes Rutgers-Newark Provost Steven J. Diner. “By showcasing the city’s rich history and resources, The Once and Future Newark should help spread the good word about Newark far beyond this campus and the city’s borders,” Diner explains.

“NJN is honored to partner with Rutgers-Newark and broadcast the premiere of Once and Future Newark on NJN,” said NJN Executive Director Elizabeth Christopherson. “The program brings to light the vibrant history of Newark and gives viewers a deeper perspective on this great city,” she continued. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring this engaging and thoughtful program to NJN viewers.”

In addition to the NJN broadcasts on October 4 and 5, free Rutgers-Newark campus screenings are scheduled for October 1 and October 4. On October 1, a continuous screening of the 26-minute film will run from 11 am – 5 pm in the Paul Robeson Gallery, as part of the Rutgers-Newark Homecoming celebration. The October 4 presentation will be in Room 100 of Conklin Hall at 2:30 pm. The gallery is in the Paul Robeson Campus Center, first floor, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; Conklin Hall is at 175 University Avenue.

DVD copies of the film are available for purchase. For more information visit www.njn.net or go to www.newark.rutgers.edu/newark/index.php.