Editor's note: Welcome to Inside NJ.com's Mosaic, a version of our weekly newsletter where you can check in on the people, places, and conversations shaping diverse communities across New Jersey. We'll catch you up on stories you might've missed and share a few you won't find anywhere else.
One thing stayed with me after my conversation with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka: When he talks about reducing violence, he is not talking about policing alone.
Baraka described an ecosystem that brings police, violence intervention workers, hospitals, schools and community organizations together. After our interview, his team sent me additional information that offered a broader view of that work.
One of the clearest examples was Newark's juvenile summer curfew program. According to the city, workers recorded 2,324 interactions with young people — not to arrest them, but to identify what they and their families needed and connect them with services. Through Aug. 23, the city reported no youth fatalities or shootings during curfew hours.
Other efforts addressed the conditions that can leave young people vulnerable. Newark placed 1,627 people ages 14 to 24 in summer jobs. Among participants in the program's Next Gen component, 92% opened bank accounts.
The city also served more than 302,000 breakfasts and lunches to children during the school break, while neighborhood activities drew more than 3,500 residents outside for what Newark calls Safe Summer events.
Those figures do not tell us whether every program works or whether every neighborhood feels safer. But they show what a public health approach to violence looks like in practice: a summer job, a meal, a safe place to gather or an adult who asks a young person what is happening before a conflict turns deadly.
They also do not erase the lives lost in several shootings late last year. Baraka acknowledged that those incidents exposed communication gaps among schools, probation and parole agencies, violence intervention groups and the city.
In my Q&A with Baraka, he discusses those gaps, why some young people do not believe Newark's declining crime statistics and what other cities should understand before attempting to duplicate Newark's approach. Read the Q+A here.
As Newark officials point to falling homicide numbers and expanded violence-prevention programs, a memorial park in the city ensures that those who died are not reduced to statistics.
Wanda Goodman said the idea for Brick City Memorial Park took root years ago after she read a Chicago newspaper article about a mother who honored her son by having his name engraved on a brick. When other grieving parents wanted to do the same, Goodman began imagining a similar place in Newark.
She initially brought the idea to the late Newark Councilwoman Mildred Crump. After Crump died, her son, Newark Council Member At-Large C. Lawrence Crump, helped Goodman move the project forward.
Today, plaques at the park bear the names of people lost to violence. The public can visit the peaceful space to sit, reflect or remember a loved one without going to a cemetery.
"We want families to know, 'We didn't forget your loved one. God didn't forget your loved one,'" Goodman said. "They are so grateful because they still bear the burden of losing their loved ones."
Residents gathered at the park Sept. 4 for an interfaith remembrance of recent and past victims of violence. The program opened with Christian and Islamic prayers, followed by messages of peace from community speakers.
Before the libation ceremony, participants chanted, "Stop the shooting! Stop the killing! Stop the violence!" and other calls for peace, unity and community empowerment.
Sharif Amenhotep and Bashir Akinyele, a community activist, member of Newark's Muslim community and Black studies teacher at Weequahic High School, led the libation at the start of the ceremony, honoring African ancestors and Newark residents killed by violence.
"Libation is paid to give homage and respect to the humanity of African ancestors," Akinyele said. "Last Friday, that ceremonial spirit was extended to recent and past victims of senseless violence at Brick City Memorial Park in Newark."
Goodman said the gathering was the third held at the park and the most emotional so far. Some participants cried, while a mother who had lost her son helped lead the prayer.
"People ask, 'Can we just come in there and read a book?'" Goodman said. "I tell them, 'Yes, you can come in.' It's local, it's a beautiful setting and it's so peaceful."
Three of New Jersey's most visible Black elected officials are facing three very different forms of scrutiny.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is defending a violence-prevention initiative. Rep. LaMonica McIver is fighting federal criminal charges while also being subjected to racial and gendered attacks. Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell is facing allegations of misconduct involving women.
Together, the controversies may look like another example of Black leadership under fire. But treating them as equivalent would obscure what each situation demands.
State Sen. Declan O'Scanlon, R-Monmouth, has urged Gov. Mikie Sherrill to redirect about $4.25 million allocated to Newark's Brick City Peace Collective, citing a recent performance by rapper Bunna B at a youth-focused event and earlier concerns about speakers he accused of antisemitism. Read O'Scanlon's statement and letter.
Those concerns warrant review. But any assessment should also consider the collective's broader work coordinating violence-prevention efforts across the city. Newark reported a 64.7% decline in homicides during the first half of 2026, and officials credit programs that connect at-risk youth and families with services.
The question is not whether the collective should be scrutinized. It is whether one incident outweighs its overall record.
McIver's situation is more complicated and potentially life-altering.
The representative faces federal charges stemming from a May 2025 confrontation outside Delaney Hall, where she and other members of Congress were conducting an oversight visit as agents attempted to arrest Baraka. She has pleaded not guilty, and a federal appeals court recently allowed two charges to proceed.
Whether McIver committed a crime is a question for the courts, not social media.
That distinction disappeared in Laura Loomer's attacks. (Newsweek reported on the exchange and ensuing backlash.) Rather than debate McIver's conduct or policy positions, the far-right activist resorted to slurs that targeted her race, gender and perceived class.
Such insults do not advance a legal or political argument. They simply demean.
Sherrill's administration has retained an outside law firm to investigate allegations that the lieutenant governor behaved inappropriately toward women and may have offered state jobs improperly.
The New Jersey Republican Party has called for his immediate resignation. Caldwell had not publicly responded to the allegations when they were first reported. Read the NJ.com report.
These are serious allegations, but they remain allegations. The findings of the investigation will be essential to determining what happened and what accountability should follow.
Black leadership does not require protection from scrutiny. It requires consistent standards.
Baraka's program should be evaluated on its complete record and the public money it spends. The charges against McIver should be resolved through evidence and the courts, not racial and gendered insults. The allegations against Caldwell should be investigated promptly, independently and transparently.
Holding leaders responsible for what they do is fundamentally different from attacking who they are.
A quiet N.J. farm witnessed history on 9/11 — and now it's being transformed into a memorial By Rob Jennings | The hilltop site that offered a unique view of the tragedy unfolding in Manhattan will open as a memorial for the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
N.J. Lt. Gov. Caldwell under investigation for alleged inappropriate behavior toward women, sources say By Brent Johnson | Former state Attorney General Christopher Porrino has been tasked by Gov. Mikie Sherrill with leading the investigation.
Guest column: Shut up but keep talking: A guide to public meetings By Christopher Chapman | As town halls turn combative nationwide, officials, citizens and police each have a role to play in keeping democracy functional without silencing dissent.
Court dismisses federal lawsuit against N.J. over order blocking ICE agents from state property By Nicolas Fernandes | The lawsuit was filed in February, when the Justice Department was headed by former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Behind Newark's 24 Hours of Peace, a mayor's blueprint for reducing violence Sep. 6, 2026, 10:50 a.m.
Inside NJ.com's Mosaic: Celebrating community stories and shaping what comes next Sep. 9, 2026, 12:39 a.m.
"If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
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