New York Public Radio

We produce award-winning journalism, invite courageous conversation, set the industry standard in innovative podcasting, and champion classical music for everyone.

Press RoomBack to Press Room

WNYC, NJ Spotlight News, Chalkbeat Newark, and The Center for Cooperative Media host “The State of Segregation”

Experts, journalists, Newark community members, and students will discuss segregation in New Jersey’s schools and what can be done to combat it

Thursday, October 26 from 5:15-8 p.m. at the Newark Public Library

Presented as part of a larger reporting collaboration among almost a dozen journalistic outlets about one of the most segregated educational systems in the country

(New York, NY, October 19, 2023) – On Thursday, October 26, four journalistic organizations – WNYC, NJ Spotlight News, Chalkbeat Newark, and the Center for Cooperative Media – will host “The State of Segregation,” a community event and discussion focused on racial segregation in New Jersey schools. 

WNYC Morning Edition host Michael Hill will lead a conversation  about the pervasive segregation in New Jersey’s schools with NJ Spotlight News’ Colleen O’Dea and special guest Dr. Charles Payne, the Henry Rutgers Distinguished Professor of African American Studies and Director of the Joseph Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Research at Rutgers University.  In addition, Jessie Gomez of Chalkbeat Newark will moderate a discussion with students and community advocates from Newark to talk about their experiences with diversity, race and access to resources in schools.

Members of the public will have a chance to ask the panelists questions, share their experiences and help inform ongoing press coverage of segregation in New Jersey. 

This event is an opportunity for parents, students, and members of the community to engage directly with journalists to inform coverage and to contribute to a dialogue that could shape policy in New Jersey. 

This event takes place October 26 from 5:15-8 p.m. at the Newark Public Library (Main Branch, 2nd floor), 5 Washington St., Newark, and is free to the public. Registration is required here.

The State of Segregation is presented as part of the “Segregated NJ” project, a collaborative reporting project among nearly a dozen news organizations in New Jersey – initiated by WNYC and NJ Spotlight News – to explore to social, economic, educational and structural forces that make the state’s educational system one of the most segregated in the nation. WNYC’s stories on the close connection between housing policy and segregation are here; additional stories are at segregatednj.org. 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND 

Seventy years after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v Board of Education, ruling “separate but equal” to be unconstitutional, New Jersey’s public education system is still grappling with segregation. In Newark, Chalkbeat’s reporting shows many schools are individually majority Black or majority Latino, but those populations are often underrepresented among the city’s teaching staff. 

A state Superior Court in October ruled that New Jersey has a responsibility to address segregation in its schools — but it’s still unclear what next steps that could mean for policymakers or advocates suing to force change.

ABOUT WNYC

With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, WNYC is New York’s public radio station, broadcasting and streaming award-winning journalism, groundbreaking audio programming and essential talk radio to the city and beyond. WNYC is a leading member station of NPR and broadcasts programs from the BBC World Service, along with a roster of WNYC-produced local programs that champion the stories and spirit of New York City and the surrounding region. From its state-of-the-art studios, WNYC is reshaping audio for a new generation of listeners, producing some of the most beloved nationally-syndicated public radio programs including Radiolab, On the Media, The New Yorker Radio Hour, and the local radio show and podcast The Brian Lehrer Show. WNYC broadcasts on 93.9 FM and AM 820 to listeners in New York and the tri-state area, and is available to audiences everywhere at WNYC.org, the WNYC app and through major digital radio services, all made possible through the generous support of our members, donors and sponsors.