# IN THE WAKE TV > Centering Black Life Always: Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About Us URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/about/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T05:20:45.000Z **IN THE WAKE TV** is a people-powered media co-op centering Black life through news, culture, documentaries, and live coverage. **We are a people-powered platform centering Black life. Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally.** Our newsroom investigates the root causes of systemic harm—from land theft and engineered scarcity to state violence. Simultaneously, our cultural coverage records how our communities heal, create, and fight back. Our journalism is built on three foundational lenses—radical frameworks for understanding how power operates against Black and Indigenous communities, moving away from merely "reporting crime" and toward documenting systemic harm and community resistance. ## The IN THE WAKE TV Coverage Pillars ### Pillar I: Land Theft & The Crime of Displacement 🏛️ We redefine "property crime" by centering the original and ongoing seizure of land from Black and Indigenous people. - **The Radical Lens:** We treat deed theft, predatory zoning, gentrification, and eminent domain as active crime scenes. - **The Goal:** To expose how generational wealth is siphoned away through "legal" mechanisms and to document the collective fight for territorial sovereignty. ### Pillar II: Resource Deprivation as Aggravated Neglect ⚕️ We define violence as the deliberate, systemic withholding of the essential means of life. - **The Radical Lens:** When a community lacks clean water, healthcare, or healthy food, the "criminal" is not the person struggling for survival—it is the system that engineered the scarcity. - **The Goal:** To frame "food deserts" and "medical redlining" as state-sanctioned assaults on the body, the mind, and the community. ### Pillar III: State Violence & The Architecture of Coercion ⚖️ We treat the carceral legal system—police, courts, and prisons—as a subject to be aggressively investigated, never as a primary source of truth. - **The Radical Lens:** Rooted in the historical legacy of the Central Park Five (The Exonerated Five), we investigate how the state utilizes tools like coerced confessions, over-policing, and predatory surveillance to disrupt Black life. - **The Goal:** To document the "Wake" of the legal system and amplify the grassroots, community-led movements working to dismantle these coercive structures. > **Why Our Pillars Matter** By anchoring our newsroom in these three ideas, we ensure that every story we cover—from a grassroots transit rally to a local youth cultural showcase—is structurally tied back to a larger mission of decolonization, truth-telling, and deep institutional accountability. ### (Untitled) URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/news/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T10:08:22.000Z IN THE WAKE TV [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/download-1.jpg)](#/portal/signup/free) Our journalism is built on three foundational lenses — radical frameworks for understanding how power operates against Black and Indigenous communities. [SUPPORT INDEPENDENT REPORTING TODAY ](#/portal/signup/free) Your support is vital to sustain and grow Democracy Now! [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/unnamed.png)](https://www.democracynow.org/donate/?gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=2075256369&gbraid=0AAAAAD4j6VUOVFYud0q-LFKIU9m6C4VdG&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgNqgxJK%5FlQMVs0T%5FAR0jtjPUEAAYASAAEgKoWPD%5FBwE&ref=inthewake.tv) Monthly donations provide Democracy Now! with support we can count on in a time of many unknowns. Help make sure Democracy Now! is here today, and tomorrow too, with a monthly donation. [SUPPORT DEMOCRACY NOW! ](https://www.democracynow.org/donate/?gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=2075256369&gbraid=0AAAAAD4j6VUOVFYud0q-LFKIU9m6C4VdG&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgNqgxJK%5FlQMVs0T%5FAR0jtjPUEAAYASAAEgKoWPD%5FBwE&ref=inthewake.tv) ### Streams URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/on-air-stream-2/ Last updated: 2026-07-01T12:38:51.000Z _No content available._ ### Transparency Hub URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/transparency-hub/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T23:12:51.000Z Welcome to the central transparency repository for IN THE WAKE TV. As a 501(c)(3) people-powered media co-op centering Black life, our editorial independence and financial integrity are anchored by our community. We believe total funding transparency is an essential extension of public interest journalism. This hub serves two purposes: guiding our grassroots members in sustaining our core operations and outlining strict boundaries for institutional underwriters to fund thematic coverage verticals without compromising our journalism. ## 1\. People-Powered Membership Model In alignment with Article III of the IN THE WAKE TV Bylaws, our media network operates as a non-stock, nonprofit cooperative. Governance relies on a democratic, one-member, one-vote system. Membership is a vehicle for movement solidarity, resource sharing, and community accountability—not a commercial transaction or financial equity stake. We maintain two distinct membership classes that work interdependently to sustain our ecosystem: 🛠️ ### Worker Members Active media creators, journalists, editors, and production coordinators. Worker-members retain complete editorial control over the newsroom, ensuring our investigations remain independent of institutional funders. They hold primary voting rights over operational policies, working conditions, and joint labor agreements. 🌱 ### Community Members Supporters, viewers, organizers, and ecosystem participants. Community members participate in democratic advisory forums to shape coverage priorities and ensure community accountability. They sustain the co-op via a "Give-What-You-Can" sliding scale or sweat equity. | Community Tier | Monthly Support | Operational Impact | Engagement & Governance | | ------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Sustaining Member | $5 – $10 / mo(or volunteer time) | Sustains open-access community digital archives, web hosting, and public safety gear for field reporters. | Direct invitation to the quarterly Co-Op Community Advisory Forum to give feedback on coverage priorities; inclusion in the digital People's Registry. | | Producer's Circle | $25 – $50 / mo | Funds camera/audio equipment upkeep, travel stipends for community correspondents, and public records (FOIA) filing fees. | All previous access, plus guaranteed priority seating at live studio tapings, community town halls, and monthly behind-the-scenes production memos. | | Sustaining Guardian | $100+ / mo($1,200+ annually) | Anchors the legal defense fund for investigative journalists and secures seasonal broadcast slot commitments on our partner stations. | All previous access, plus an invitation to the annual private briefing with editorial leads and prominent on-screen end-credit acknowledgements. | ## 2\. Institutional Vertical Underwriting Framework To protect our reporting from outside influence, IN THE WAKE TV does not accept corporate, foundational, or institutional funding for individual stories, segments, or investigations. Instead, aligned institutions are invited to underwrite broad thematic coverage verticals. ### 🛑 The Editorial Firewall Policy Underwriters provide foundational funding for the educational, cultural, and investigative ecosystem of a broad topic. Underwriters maintain **zero input, zero review rights, and zero editorial control** over specific stories, reporting angles, interviewees, or investigations handled by the newsroom. ### Current Underwriting Verticals 🌍 #### The Land & Sovereignty Vertical Focus: Investigating land theft, environmental racism, housing rights, and urban agricultural resilience.Eligible Underwriters: Environmental justice funds, community land trusts, housing rights foundations. Compliant Acknowledgement Example"Support for our Land & Sovereignty Vertical is provided by \[Organization Name\], working to preserve urban agricultural spaces."⚖️ #### The Systemic Harm & Economic Equity Desk Focus: Investigative journalism exploring engineered scarcity, state violence, predatory finance, and solidarity economics.Eligible Underwriters: Policy think-tanks, social justice legal funds, community development financial institutions (CDFIs).Compliant Acknowledgement Example"Support for the Economic Equity Desk comes from \[Organization Name\], providing community-backed banking alternatives."🎭 #### The Culture, History & Healing Vertical Focus: Documenting how communities heal, create art, protect oral traditions, and organize collective resistance.Eligible Underwriters: Arts councils, local museums, academic institutions, cultural preservation funds.Compliant Acknowledgement Example"Support for our Culture & Healing Vertical is provided by \[Organization Name\], dedicated to archiving local storytelling." ## 3\. IRS Compliance & Underwriting Guidelines As a 501(c)(3) organization, all broadcast and digital acknowledgements must strictly follow Qualified Sponsorship Payment rules to protect our tax-exempt status. Acknowledging our institutional partners is an expression of appreciation, not commercial advertising. | What is PERMITTED(Value-Neutral Acknowledgement) | What is PROHIBITED(Commercial Advertising) | | -------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Logos, brand names, and corporate identities. | Qualitative or comparative language (e.g., "the city's best legal team"). | | Value-neutral descriptions of product lines or services. | Pricing information, interest rates, or discounts (e.g., "members get 10% off"). | | Web addresses, phone numbers, and location details. | Direct calls-to-action (e.g., "call today to sign up" or "visit our office"). | | Established, non-promotional corporate slogans. | Endorsements or inducements to buy, sell, or rent products. | ### Sustain Independent Black Media Join our community of members sustaining public interest journalism, or learn more about underwriting a coverage vertical. ### (Untitled) URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/home/ Last updated: 2026-07-18T12:50:48.000Z _No content available._ ### CULTURE & SOCIETY URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/cas/ Last updated: 2026-07-18T11:48:46.000Z Our cultural and society coverage records how our communities heal, create, and fight back. [Support our 🎭 Culture, History & Healing Fund today for only $5\. ](#/portal/signup) ### Espanol URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/espanol/ Last updated: 2026-07-02T12:37:54.000Z _No content available._ ### The Great City of Newark, NJ URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/newark/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T10:27:32.000Z _No content available._ ### My mayor Muslim, my bagel Jewish, my Christian Dior, Knicks in four. URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/nyc/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T12:34:29.000Z _No content available._ ### IN THE WAKE TV x Flint MI URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/flint/ Last updated: 2026-07-12T22:15:48.000Z FROM THE IN THE WAKE TEAM We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to broadcast on WJRT ABC Flint during our Special Paid Programming slot on Sundays at 11:30 AM, a vital platform that allows us to bring our mission directly to the community. We are fiercely committed to amplifying authentic Black storytelling that centers community resistance, exposes systemic harm, and honors the lived experiences of our people. Check this space regularly for our latest episodes as we continue to pour hyper-local love into the Great City of Flint, Michigan, elevating the voices and victories of its residents. ## Sign up for IN THE WAKE TV Centering Black life through news, stories, documentaries & live coverage. Become a Member Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468556126_9074186039300727_1596159564843161256_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468564109_9074186029300728_3759300615794216673_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468564886_9074186019300729_3741462958886451452_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468568693_9074186092634055_9183723767705905396_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468573730_9074185912634073_4438281241882502278_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468574507_9074185872634077_2573636691797280919_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468622304_9074186045967393_6866356858726508073_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468623557_9074186115967386_9038490385604016148_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468635859_9074185849300746_3050596408308790696_n.jpg) 2026 Juneteenth Celebration Flint, MI Photo credit: [Alexandria Chrisele Photography.](https://www.linkedin.com/company/alexandriachriselephoto?ref=inthewake.tv) 0:00 /0:33 1× Flint Seniors Matter PSA ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/471197530_1025367719634881_709570680034162971_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/736367259_1339250031511711_6165165037686457399_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/738511826_2197257187731602_7430042453667303519_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/738712615_2639816693083009_6160436074849128214_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/738759195_4546902838888444_1244846403305810255_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/738877843_2050006392578031_3989119688711907003_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/739164829_2317004065711574_5937402434152320764_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/739378240_2208964116615587_5143840038679930328_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/739508984_27746356111718229_669383743933659401_n.jpg) City of Flint celebrates the Fourth of July | Photos courtesy of the City of Flint Facebook page ### Boston, MA URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/boston/ Last updated: 2026-07-01T14:24:29.000Z _No content available._ ### About Membership URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/membership/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T23:12:32.000Z In alignment with Article III of the IN THE WAKE TV Bylaws, our media network operates as a non-stock, nonprofit cooperative. Governance relies on a democratic, one-member, one-vote system. Membership is a vehicle for movement solidarity, resource sharing, and community accountability—not a commercial transaction or financial equity stake. [Become a Member, today. ](https://www.inthewake.tv/member/) We maintain two distinct membership classes that work interdependently to sustain our ecosystem: 🛠️ Worker Members Active media creators, journalists, editors, and production coordinators. Worker-members retain complete editorial control over the newsroom, ensuring our investigations remain independent of institutional funders. They hold primary voting rights over operational policies, working conditions, and joint labor agreements. 🌱Community Members Supporters, viewers, organizers, and ecosystem participants. Community members participate in democratic advisory forums to shape coverage priorities and ensure community accountability. They sustain the co-op via a "Give-What-You-Can" sliding scale or sweat equity. ### Black House Black Joy URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/blackhouseblackjoy/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T23:05:13.000Z _This page is for subscribers only._ ### Tribeca Film Festival 2026 URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/tribeca/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T20:51:23.000Z _No content available._ ### Privacy Policy URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/privacy-policy/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T23:06:55.000Z # Last Updated July 12, 2026 At In The Wake TV, we are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you visit our platform, use our app, or engage with our content. ## 1\. Information We Collect We collect information to provide a better experience for our viewers. This includes: **Personal Information:** Name, email address, and billing information (if applicable) provided during account registration. **Usage Data:** Details on the content you watch, how long you watch it, and your interaction with our features. **Device Information:** IP address, browser type, device model, and operating system. ## 2\. How We Use Your Data We don't just collect data for the sake of it. We use it to: **Personalize your feed:** Recommending shows and content "In The Wake" of your interests. **Improve the Platform:** Analyzing technical performance and fixing bugs. **Communication:** Sending updates about new releases, newsletters, or account alerts. **Security:** Preventing fraudulent activity and unauthorized access. ## 3\. Cookies and Tracking We use cookies to remember your login status and preferences. You can manage cookie settings through your browser, but note that some features of In The Wake TV may not function properly without them. ## 4\. Data Sharing and Third Parties We do not sell your personal data. We only share information with: **Service Providers:** Companies that help us with hosting, payment processing, or analytics. **Legal Requirements:** If required by law to comply with legal processes or protect our rights. ## 5\. Your Rights Depending on your location, you may have the right to: - Request a copy of the data we hold about you. - Request that we delete your personal information. - Opt-out of marketing communications at any time. ## 6\. Security We implement industry-standard security measures (such as SSL encryption) to protect your data. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. ## Contact Us If you have questions about this policy or your data, please reach out to us: **Email:** [galileo@inthewaketv.com](mailto:galileo@inthewaketv.com) **Website:** [www.inthewake.tv](https://www.inthewake.tv/) ### IN THE WAKE TV Accessibility Statement URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/in-the-wake-tv-accessibility/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T23:06:10.000Z At **IN THE WAKE TV, we** are deeply committed to digital inclusion, equity, and representation. For us, accessibility isn't just a legal checkbox—it is a core component of cultural preservation and community care. We believe our stories, culture, and digital spaces should be seamlessly available to everyone, including individuals with disabilities. To demonstrate this commitment, we actively work to ensure our website is accessible and usable for all visitors, aligning our digital presence with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level and complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. ### Our Ongoing Accessibility Efforts & Technology To help maintain a highly accessible environment and mitigate legal risks, IN THE WAKE TV utilizes **accessiBe’s accessWidget**. This automated solution works 24/7 in the background of our site to ensure ongoing compliance. - **Automatic Scanning & Fixes:** The accessWidget scans and remediates our website daily, making real-time adjustments to ensure compatibility with screen readers, keyboard navigation optimizations, and other assistive technologies. - **User-Triggered Interface:** Visitors can also utilize the on-screen accessibility menu to customize their UI (User Interface) according to their specific needs, adjusting font sizes, color contrasts, animations, and more. ### We Are Here For You While our automated systems work constantly to maintain compliance, we recognize that technology is an ongoing journey. If you experience any barriers while navigating our site, or if the automated solutions are not fully meeting your accessibility needs, we want to hear from you directly. Your feedback helps us keep our digital space truly inclusive. Please reach out to our team through any of the following channels: - **Email:** Galileo@inthewake.tv - **Phone:** 1-833-5-WAKE-TV (1-833-592-5388) - **Text:** 848-297-0990 > We aim to respond to all accessibility inquiries promptly and will work diligently to provide you with the information or accommodation you need. ### Behind the Scenes URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/bts/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T23:24:35.000Z ## Sign up for IN THE WAKE TV Centering Black life through news, stories, documentaries & live coverage. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### Impact: The Ripple Effect URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/impact-the-ripple-effect/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T09:50:15.000Z ## **Every Dollar Has a Story** At IN THE WAKE TV, we believe every decision creates a ripple. Every vendor. Every sponsor. Every purchase. Every membership. We intentionally build relationships that strengthen communities—not just our organization. **Follow the impact.** ### IN THE WAKE OF JAZZ URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/jazz/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T09:57:19.000Z _No content available._ ### Root Cause URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/justice/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T13:40:13.000Z _No content available._ ## Posts ### The Black Excellence behind the film Chicka Boom! URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/the-black-excellence-behind-the-film-chicka-boom/ Last updated: 2026-09-09T15:32:52.000Z Red carpet magic at Tribeca Film Festival! ✨ Host and Jazz singer Antoinette Montague connects with producer Alyssa Katalyna and director c. Craig Patterson to discuss their film [*Chicka Boom!*](https://tribecafilm-production.herokuapp.com/films/chikaboom-2026?ref=inthewake.tv)—a love letter to belief, vision, and New York City. The film is part of [Shorts: Whoopi's Wonderful World of Animation](https://tribecafilm-production.herokuapp.com/films/shorts-whoopi-s-wonderful-world-of-animation-2026?ref=inthewake.tv) who speaks briefly with Montague. 🎥 Watch as the filmmakers share what it takes to build a team, lead with kindness, and bring magic to life on screen. Can't see this video, view on www.inthewake.tv #InTheWakeTV #TribecaFilmFestival #ChickaBoom #BlackMedia #BlackFilmmakers #WhoopiGoldberg #IndieFilm #NYC Film ### "They Actually Want to Be Here": How a Jersey City Football Camp Is Changing Young Lives URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/they-actually-want-to-be-herehow-bully-the-bullys-football-camp-in-jersey-city-is-building-community/ Last updated: 2026-09-09T13:13:50.000Z On a warm Sunday afternoon at Caven Point, the holiday weekend noise gave way to something far more focused: the sound of young athletes bringing their full effort to the turf. The 2nd Annual "Bully the Bully" Youth Training Camp, hosted by local organization [Shine A Light NJ](https://shinealightnj.org/?ref=inthewake.tv), brought together youth from third to eighth grade for three hours of free football training, skill building, and mentorship. But for the organizers, parents, and coaches standing along the sidelines, the drills were secondary to the real purpose—creating a safe, encouraging space where young people are seen, supported, and valued. *Can't see the video in your email? Visit www.inthewake.tv* For the young athletes running drills, the inspiration was right in front of them. [Minnesota Vikings player Elijah Williams](https://www.vikings.com/team/players-roster/elijah-williams/?ref=inthewake.tv) returned to his hometown to cheer on the youth and help them develop their skills. Having a local hero back on the field gave young players a direct line of sight to what is possible when preparation meets opportunity. "With stuff like this, you really just want to see effort out of kids," Williams said, watching the athletes throw themselves into every movement. "I feel like we're definitely getting a lot of effort, and they actually want to be here... When they enjoy it and they give their best, that's how they get the best out of it." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0704.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0706-1.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0708.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0709.JPG) Provided by Shine A Light NJ That spirit of intergenerational support runs deep through the team hosting the event. Lincoln High School head coach Mario Santana, a Lincoln graduate himself, watched as his former players—including Elijah and event leader Coach Jesse—poured their time back into the next generation of Jersey City youth. For parents, the impact goes far beyond athletic development. "Jesse is really all about the kids," Diamond a Jersey City parent reflected, noting that the training and camp were provided completely free of charge. "It's not about the money for him... I love the fact that the kids get to come together and be able to like enjoy. It's really like he created a brotherhood." Events like "Bully the Bully" rely on grassroots community power. Shine A Light NJ operates through the dedicated time of local volunteers who ensure these programs remain accessible to every child, regardless of income. To learn more about upcoming youth activities, volunteer your time, or support future programs, visit **shinelightnj.org**. ### From Jersey Club Dance Floors to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival: Eric Roberson on House Music, Liberation, and Process URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/from-jersey-club-dance-floors-to-the-pittsburgh-international-jazz-festival-eric-roberson-on-house-music-liberation-and-process/ Last updated: 2026-09-08T11:50:05.000Z For independent R&B and soul artist [Eric Roberson](https://ericrobersonmusic.com/?ref=inthewake.tv), liberation isn't an abstract concept—it is something felt deep in the body, cultivated on the dance floor, and carried onto the stage. Growing up in Rahway, New Jersey, Roberson’s artistic identity was shaped in church choir rehearsals, cafeteria hip-hop ciphers, and the sweat-slicked dance floors of house music hubs in Newark and East Orange like Club 88\. Practicing moves in front of his living room mirror as a kid, he discovered early on how deeply sound could free a person. > > "The beautiful thing which really helped me as an artist is just how freeing house music was," Roberson shared. "... house music still can help you forget where you are, forget your pains." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/New-Jersey-Club-Archival-photo-f3885ee58fddb1583c1c5e77e5849d00-1.jpg) New Jersey Club Archival footage That spirit of rule-breaking and independence has defined his 30-year career. With 18 albums released on his own terms, Roberson has sustained his life and family through his art by prioritizing the journey over commercial metrics. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/Erro-3230732-1024x1024-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/joeykennedyphoto-JF-SAT-25-0322.jpg) Artist image provided by artist website | Joe Kennedy Photographer for Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Ahead of his headlining performance at the [Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival](https://pittsburghjazzfest.org/?ref=inthewake.tv), following a residency with the [August Wilson African American Cultural Center](https://awaacc.org/?ref=inthewake.tv), Roberson is preparing a two-night experience rooted in spontaneity and connection. His Saturday set will be fully improvised—an unscripted trust fall with the audience—followed by a Sunday performance packed with the beloved anthems his community has celebrated for decades. Whether building an unscripted song live on stage or reflecting on how his music soundtracked births, weddings, and quiet moments of healing for listeners, Roberson remains grounded in the present. Roberson’s headline performance comes as part of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center’s sixth annual B.U.I.L.D. Residency Program, made possible with major support from the Joyce and George Wein Foundation. Designed to close opportunity gaps for Black artists and bolster their artistic and business capacities, the program pairs Roberson alongside fellow residency artist and hip-hop icon [Kid Capri.](https://kidcapri.com/?ref=inthewake.tv) By bringing both Capri’s legendary turntablism and Roberson’s soulful improvisation directly to the streets of downtown Pittsburgh from September 17–20, the festival serves as a living, holistic celebration of how these interconnected genres continue to shape and sustain global culture ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/Eric-Roberson-Album-Cover.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/joeykennedyphoto-JF-SAT-25-0487-1.jpg) Artist image provided by artist website | Joe Kennedy Photographer for Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival ### A transparent update: Our summer sabbatical, 501(c)(3) transition, and what’s ahead URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/a-transparent-update-our-summer-sabbatical-501-c-3-transition-and-whats-ahead/ Last updated: 2026-09-03T10:39:06.000Z Thank you for your patience, your trust, and for standing with us as we evolve. We are back, energized, and ready for this next chapter. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Celebrating Newark’s House Music History at Newark Culture Club URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/celebrating-newarks-house-music-history-at-newark-culture-club/ Last updated: 2026-09-03T09:53:04.000Z **Presented By:** IN THE WAKE TV **Dates:** Weekly on Saturdays, September 5 – October 3, 2026 **Time:** 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM **Location:** Newark Culture Club **Admission:** $10 For over four decades, New Jersey House Music has been far more than just a soundtrack to late nights—it has served as a self-sustaining ecosystem of Black community, sanctuary, and pure joy. Long before thousands gathered in parks for large-scale festivals, local organizers, DJs, and dancers built a movement from the ground up right here in Newark. Starting **Saturday, September 5, 2026**, **IN THE WAKE TV** presents the ***Black House Black Joy House Music Screening*** series at the **Newark Culture Club**. Running weekly through October 3, this special limited series dives deep into the evolution of New Jersey’s distinct dance scene. Through intimate interviews with iconic figures like **DJ Jihad Muhammad, Kenny Bobien, Josh Milan, Kym Mazelle, and The Weather Girls**, the series honors the artists, archivists, and activists who shaped a global phenomenon. Whether you are a lifelong House Head or new to the history, here is what you can look forward to across the eight-episode screening schedule: ### **Weekly Screening Schedule** #### **Saturday, September 5** - **Episode 1: The House Newark Built** Discover the grassroots labor, permit proposals, and neighborhood pride that birthed Newark’s second-oldest House music festival. - **Episode 2: Sacred Floors & Holy Sweat!** Follow local dancers who view the dance floor not just as a party, but as a sacred space for mental health, sobriety support, and healing. #### **Saturday, September 12** - **Episode 3: Sound Architects** Local DJs and music stewards break down the craft, labor, and lineage of preserving Newark’s signature sound for new generations. - **Episode 4: Queer Sanctuary** A tribute to the Black LGBTQ+ organizers and dancers who created lasting safe havens grounded in safety, love, and mutual care. #### **Saturday, September 26** - **Episode 5: Behind the Lens: From Vietnam to House Culture** Meet the military veterans who returned home, picked up cameras, and captured decades of local memories and cultural history. - **Episode 6: Club Zanzibar** Step inside the oral histories of Newark’s legendary music sanctuary—the club that gave birth to a global sound and provided refuge for all. #### **Saturday, October 3** - **Episode 7: Serving Our People** House music is about taking care of its own. Learn how groups like Treehouse Care have spent four decades delivering meals, clothing, and direct aid to neighbors in need. - **Episode 8: Women of House** The series finale centers the vocalists, mothers, and organizers whose dynamic leadership built and continues to sustain the foundation of dance culture. ### **Join the Movement** The journey to bring these untold stories to the screen has been a passion project for the entire team, and as the work continues, the creators are eager to begin engaging with audiences directly. Join us every Saturday at Newark Culture Club to connect with the filmmakers, honor our local legends, and experience the culture that keeps Newark dancing. For ticket information and event updates, visit the [Newark Culture Club's Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-the-wake-tv-presents-black-house-black-joy-screening-tickets-1997903533250?aff=oddtdtcreator&ref=inthewake.tv) or follow IN THE WAKE TV.. ### Meeting at the Door: Freddie Nole is Rewriting the Story of Reentry After 50 Years Inside URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/meeting-at-the-door-freddie-nole-is-rewriting-the-story-of-reentry-after-50-years-inside/ Last updated: 2026-09-02T09:42:51.000Z In this inspiring interview from *In the Wake TV*, [Dr. Tonisha Taylor](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-tonisha-taylor-lsw-49954410/?ref=inthewake.tv) talks with Freddie Nole and Director Dana Nachman about their groundbreaking short documentary, [*The Second Life of Freddie Nole*](https://www.thesecondlifeoffreddienole.com/?ref=inthewake.tv), following its New York [Tribeca Film Festival premiere](https://tribecafilm.com/films/second-life-of-freddie-nole-2026?ref=inthewake.tv). > After a devastating mistake by the legal system cost him 50 years of his freedom, Freddie Nole didn’t turn his back on the past. Instead, he went right back to the prison gates to help others. In this conversation, Freddie speaks openly about why community support is the real key to lasting freedom, while director Dana Nachman shares how she captured this moving road trip to show that, at the end of the day, we all share the same human need for connection and a true second chance. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/The-Second-Life-of-Freddie-Nole_Press-Image-6.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/The-Second-Life-of-Freddie-Nole_Press-Image-4-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/The-Second-Life-of-Freddie-Nole_Poster.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/Freddie---Dana.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/Full-Team.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/09/Freddie-Red-Carpet.JPG) Tribeca Film Festival New York Premiere The Second Life of Freddie Nole ### 1978 BMCC Students "Invest in Us" March Intercepts a Presidential Visit for Educational Equity URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/1978-bmcc-students-invest-in-us-march-intercepts-a-presidential-visit-for-educational-equity/ Last updated: 2026-08-04T13:37:39.000Z On November 2, 1978, police surveillance cameras set up near Wall and Pine Streets in Lower Manhattan were tasked with monitoring President Jimmy Carter’s political campaign visit. But as national press gathered around the President and city officials, thousands of working-class students from the Borough of Manhattan Community College marched down Broadway from Chambers Street to redirect the spotlight. ![Borough of Manhattan Community College protest November 11, 1978](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/08/image-6.png) Borough of Manhattan Community College protest November 11, 1978 Navigating severe municipal austerity and proposed CUNY budget cuts in the wake of New York's 1970s fiscal crisis, Black, Brown, and immigrant students refused to allow public higher education to be treated as a disposable expense. Carrying handmade signs reading *"INVEST IN US WE'RE NEW YORK'S FUTURE"* and *"WE ARE 9000 STRONG WE SHALL OVERCOME,"* young people transformed a corporate and political photo-op into an urgent demand for community investment. While institutional cameras monitored the crowd from behind wooden barricades, these students reclaimed the sidewalk. They asserted that budgets are moral documents—and that working-class youth are the true engine of the city's future. ![Borough of Manhattan Community College protest November 11, 1978](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/08/image-4-1.png) Borough of Manhattan Community College protest November 11, 1978 Can't view this video in your email [Visit www.inthewake.tv WAKE THE ARCHIVE](https://www.inthewake.tv/reclaiming-the-archive/) #### ![Borough of Manhattan Community College protest November 11, 1978](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/08/image-7.png) Borough of Manhattan Community College protest November 11, 1978 #### **Why This Story Matters** - **People Over Surveillance:** Reclaiming police surveillance reels centers the voices, vision, and determination of working-class students rather than the institutional lens that recorded them. - **Education as Community Wealth:** BMCC students demonstrated that public higher education is an essential resource for neighborhood mobility and collective progress. - **Connecting History to Present Day:** The 1978 demand for fully funded public education directly mirrors current organizing for college accessibility, student debt relief, and municipal investment across Newark, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Brooklyn. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/08/image-5.png) IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1978 Manhattan is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit and Philadelphia, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### Martín "Tito" Pérez: The Artist, the Congas, and the Demand for Truth in East Harlem URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/martin-tito-perez-the-artist-the-congas-and-the-demand-for-truth-in-east-harlem/ Last updated: 2026-08-04T11:38:51.000Z ## On December 13, 1974, police cameras recorded a 94-second surveillance reel in Manhattan. The NYPD logged the footage as routine observation, but the lens preserved a neighborhood rising in grief, love, and moral clarity for Martín "Tito" Pérez. Tito was a 31-year-old Nuyorican visual artist, member of the Taller Boricua collective, and musician whose prints and paintings now reside in El Museo del Barrio. On December 1, 1974, he was arrested for playing his conga drums in the subway—a common way young neighborhood artists made ends meet. Hours later, police claimed Tito had hanged himself with a belt inside an East Harlem precinct cell. Knowing Tito never wore a belt, his family, friends, and fellow artists recognized a coverup of police violence. Members of Taller Boricua formed the December 1st Committee, pasting prints across the city and organizing peaceful marches to demand truth. Standing along the sidewalk, neighbors held up signs reading "Tito Was Murdered" alongside handwritten poetry celebrating his spirit. They refused to allow a gifted artist and neighbor to be reduced to a police file. Can't see this video in your email, visit [www.inthewake.tv/wakethearchive](https://www.inthewake.tv/reclaiming-the-archive/) #### **Why This Story Matters** - **People Before Institutions:** Martín "Tito" Pérez was a painter, conga player, and cultural worker; centering his life and art restores dignity to a story too often flattened by headlines. - **Artistic Action & Truth:** Taller Boricua and the December 1st Committee demonstrated how local artists and residents use visual culture and community organizing to confront institutional harm. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/08/image-3.png) IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black and Brown life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1974 Manhattan is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit and Philadelphia, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### How 1965 Puerto Rican Organizers Bound Local Safety to Homeland Liberation URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/how-1965-puerto-rican-organizers-bound-local-safety-to-homeland-liberation/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T08:44:52.000Z In 1965, police cameras recorded silent footage of a picket line along a Manhattan sidewalk. The NYPD logged the reel as routine surveillance, but the lens preserved something far deeper: Puerto Rican families and organizers demanding accountability, safety, and liberation. Can't see the video in your email? Visit www.inthewake.tv/wakethearchive Carrying handmade signs in English and Spanish, demonstrators—including elders, youth, and young parents—marched against systemic violence. They held up signs explicitly naming officers involved in brutality cases while standing under the banner of the Movimiento Pro-Independencia de Puerto Rico. ![Protestors march for Puerto Rican independence and against police violence, specifically identifying Murphy and Devlin in brutality cases.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/08/image-2.png) Protestors march for Puerto Rican independence and against police violence, specifically identifying Murphy and Devlin in brutality cases. For New York’s Puerto Rican diaspora, neighborhood police abuse and colonial rule were inseparable. Demanding dignity on their own city streets was directly bound to the sovereignty of their island home. As Puerto Rico remains in the news today with communities still fighting for self-determination and local control, this 1965 footage reminds us that the struggle for autonomy has always bridged the island and the diaspora. While institutional cameras attempted to monitor the crowd, these organizers reclaimed the sidewalk, transforming police observation into an enduring statement of collective strength. ![Protestors march for Puerto Rican independence and against police violence, specifically identifying Murphy and Devlin in brutality cases.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/08/image.png) Protestors march for Puerto Rican independence and against police violence, specifically identifying Murphy and Devlin in brutality cases. #### **Why This Story Matters** - **People Over Surveillance:** Subverting police surveillance reels centers the intent, courage, and humanity of the families marching rather than the institutional lens trying to monitor them. - **Intersectional Liberation:** The 1965 picket demonstrates how diaspora communities connected local struggles against state violence directly to global fights for sovereignty. ![Protestors march for Puerto Rican independence and against police violence, specifically identifying Murphy and Devlin in brutality cases.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/08/image-1.png) Protestors march for Puerto Rican independence and against police violence, specifically identifying Murphy and Devlin in brutality cases. IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black and Brown life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1965 Manhattan is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit, Philadelphia, and the Puerto Rican diaspora, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### On Porch Stoops and Corner Stores, South Ward Neighbors Shape the Conversation in Newark URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/on-porch-stoops-and-corner-stores-south-ward-neighbors-shape-the-conversation-in-newark/ Last updated: 2026-07-30T16:09:38.000Z Policy is rarely felt in government chambers—it lives on front stoops, outside corner markets, and along the sidewalks of residential blocks. Along Weequahic Avenue and Clinton Place in Newark’s South Ward, recent neighborhood walks brought municipal leadership directly to the doorsteps of the people who make the community run. From conversations outside Camila Food Market to quiet exchanges on front porch steps, these moments capture what happens when city decisions meet the daily rhythm of neighborhood life. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55428479304_92b793770a_c.jpg) City of Newark Press Office ``` THE LIVING ARCHIVE: NEWARK, NJ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ LOCATIONS: Weequahic Ave. & Clinton Pl. (South Ward) │ │ PHOTOGRAPHY: Newark Press Office │ │ FOCUS: Porchside Conversations, Youth, & Local Business │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` #### **Where Policy Meets Lived Experience** Beyond official agendas, the real fabric of a city is recorded in its everyday interactions: - **The Stoop as a Civic Center:** Elders standing on their front steps, sharing perspective on block safety, housing stability, and neighborhood history directly from their front doors. - **Preserving Local Commerce:** Small business owners and workers outside neighborhood spots like Camila Food Market discussing the realities of keeping local doors open. - **Investing in the Next Generation:** Young residents pausing on the sidewalk—checking in, being seen, and voicing what they need in their own neighborhood spaces. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55428478509_178ae8ffab_c-1.jpg) City of Newark Press Office #### **Why Street-Level Presence Matters** When local leaders walk through a neighborhood, the value isn't in the walk itself—it's in the listening. Across working-class Black and Brown communities, decisions about budgets, sanitation, housing, and public safety are tested on blocks like Clinton Place. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55428429533_3d2fe40120_c-1.jpg) ### **Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally.** The conversations happening on Weequahic Avenue belong to a larger story. The push to preserve local resources, hold leadership accountable, and keep neighborhood spaces safe and affordable mirrors the exact same efforts unfolding on street corners from Detroit and Philadelphia to Brooklyn and Camden. IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of Newark's South Ward is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Camden and Philadelphia to Detroit and Boston, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### Prospect Park West, 1970: Culture, Protest, and the West Indian Day Parade URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/prospect-park-west-1970-culture-protest-and-the-west-indian-day-parade/ Last updated: 2026-07-30T13:52:48.000Z In September 1970, thousands of Caribbean New Yorkers flooded Prospect Park West in Brooklyn for the annual West Indian Day Parade. Recorded in a silent surveillance reel by the NYPD’s Bureau of Special Services, the footage preserved a living archive: a community gathering not just to celebrate heritage, but to demand equity. Moving past local Brooklyn landmarks like the Sanders Theatre, the parade’s original route brought steelpan, masquerade, and Caribbean tradition directly through neighborhood streets. As West Indian families-built homes, small businesses, and community networks across Brooklyn, taking over the avenue became a vital expression of diaspora and belonging. > Can't see this video in your email visit, www.inthewake.tv/wakethearchive While police cameras monitored the crowd from above, residents in the street carried hand-written signs calling out local housing conditions, economic neglect, and police accountability. The names of the parade routes and neighborhood blocks may shift over decades but using public space to assert culture while pushing for living wages and housing dignity remains the exact same struggle today. The spirit of 1970 Brooklyn echoes directly into modern organizing and cultural preservation across Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, and Miami. ![Protests at the West Indies Day 1970 Brooklyn](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-47.jpg) Protests at the West Indies Day 1970 Brooklyn #### **Why This Story Matters** - **People Over Surveillance:** Reclaiming police surveillance footage centers the intent of the residents—showing that what institutions viewed as a crowd to monitor was actually a community organizing for its own wellbeing. - **The Dual Nature of Carnival:** West Indian Day was never just a party; it was an arena where cultural joy and political commentary existed side by side as tools for community survival. - **Preserving Geographic Memory:** Remembering original routes like Prospect Park West honors the physical history of Brooklyn’s working-class Caribbean neighborhoods and their ongoing legacy. IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1970 Brooklyn is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark to Detroit, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### 1970 East LA Chicano Organizers Standing Against Vietnam Draft URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/1970-east-la-chicano-organizers-standing-against-vietnam-draft/ Last updated: 2026-07-30T11:44:17.000Z On February 28, 1970, thousands of families, students, and local organizers gathered at Atlantic Avenue County Park in East Los Angeles to protest the Vietnam War. Preserved in the digital archives at the University of Southern California, 16mm footage recorded by the National Chicano Moratorium Committee captured a powerful moment of community-led resistance. Marching down Atlantic and Whittier Boulevards toward Interstate 710, residents transformed public streets into spaces of collective dignity. Long before state planners crisscrossed the area with freeways, East Los Angeles was a vibrant working-class hub where families-built businesses, raised children, and sustained deep neighborhood roots. Can't view this video in your email? Visit www.inthewake.tv/wakethearchive The marchers were responding to a painful reality: Black and Brown youth were being disproportionately drafted to fight overseas while their home neighborhoods faced systemic disinvestment, underfunded schools, and economic exclusion. Organizers recognized that the fight for peace abroad was inseparable from the fight for jobs, housing, and dignity at home. ![Mother and child at Chicano anti-war demonstration, East Los Angeles, California, 1970 February 28. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-44.jpg) City of Los Angeles. City Archives and Records Center #### **Why This Story Matters** - **People Over Systems:** Behind political debates on war and foreign policy were parents, youth, and organizers demanding that their lives and futures be valued. - **Intersectional Solidarity:** The protest highlighted how Black and Brown working-class youth bore the heavy burden of military service while battling systemic neglect in their own backyards. - **Connecting History to Present Day:** The demand for local investment rather than state extraction connects 1970 East Los Angeles directly to current community fights for budget equity, education, and youth opportunities nationwide. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-46.jpg) City of Los Angeles. City Archives and Records Center IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1970 East Los Angeles is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit and Philadelphia, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### Los Angeles Ribbon Cuttings and Asphalt: The Human Cost of Mid-Century Highways URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/los-angeles-ribbon-cuttings-and-asphalt-the-human-cost-of-mid-century-highways/ Last updated: 2026-07-29T11:52:28.000Z On December 27, 1950, city officials and police leadership gathered to cut the ribbon on the newest stretch of US Route 101 in Los Angeles. Preserved in the digital archives at the University of Southern California, the silent footage captures smiles, official handshakes, and ceremonial speeches. But beneath the celebration of post-war progress was a quieter, devastating reality: the displacement of Black and Latino families whose homes stood directly in the highway's path. Long before concrete stretched from Grand Avenue to Silverlake Boulevard, these urban corridors were home to vibrant, working-class communities where families-built networks, businesses, and neighborhood roots. Can't see the video in your email? visit[ IN](https://www.inthewake.tv/reclaiming-the-archive/)[ THE WAKE.TV/WAKETHEARCHIVES](https://www.inthewake.tv/reclaiming-the-archive/) Los Angeles was a blueprint for a nationwide trend. In Detroit, Interstate 75 cut directly through the heart of Black Bottom and Hastings Street, destroying a thriving Black business and cultural center. In Miami, Interstate 95 shattered the historic community of Overtown. In New York, Robert Moses’s Cross Bronx Expressway displaced tens of thousands of working-class residents, while in Newark, Interstate 280 and Route 21 sliced through established Black neighborhoods. The officials who cut those ribbons saw miles of asphalt, but the families living there carried the long-term weight of lost homes, fractured wealth, and displaced history. Understanding these mid-century design choices is essential to today’s fights for housing justice, transit equity, and community-led development across our cities. #### **Why This Story Matters** - **People Over Infrastructure:** Behind ribbon-cutting ceremonies and urban planning maps are real families whose neighborhood bonds and housing stability were sacrificed for municipal expansion. - **A Shared Regional History:** The practice of running highways through non-white working-class districts wasn't an accident of one city—it was a national policy pattern felt from Newark and Brooklyn to Detroit, Miami, and Los Angeles. - **Connecting History to Present Day:** The generational loss of property and community wealth caused by highway displacement directly informs today's conversations around urban reinvestment, housing preservation, and environmental justice. IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1950 Los Angeles is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit and Philadelphia, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-41.jpg) As federal and state infrastructure programs expanded, planners routinely routed highways directly through Black and Brown neighborhoods, treating established communities as clearable space for suburban commute lines. ### Waltham, 1976: Beyond the Ceremonial Podium—Barbara Jordan’s Call to Refuse Silence URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/waltham-1976-beyond-the-ceremonial-podium-barbara-jordans-call-to-refuse-silence/ Last updated: 2026-07-29T06:09:20.000Z On May 30, 1976, news cameras gathered at Brandeis University to capture traditional commencement coverage—faculty singing, graduates seated in cap and gown, and families celebrating an educational milestone. But when U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan took the podium, the atmosphere shifted from routine ceremony to urgent civic challenge. Raised in Houston’s segregated Fifth Ward, Jordan had spent her life dismantling systemic barriers—becoming the first African American elected to the Texas State Senate since Reconstruction and the first Black woman from the South elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Standing at the peak of her national authority after her constitutional defense during the 1974 Watergate hearings—and just six weeks before making history as the first Black woman to keynote a Democratic National Convention—Jordan spoke with distinct moral clarity. Can't see the embed in your email, WATCH HERE AT IN THE WAKE TV: Rather than treating young graduates as passive observers, Jordan called on them to recognize that silence offers no protection when public trust and democratic institutions are under threat. ### **The Lived Experience** While mainstream broadcasts often framed commencement season as a fleeting rite of passage, the message delivered that day spoke directly to how public accountability shapes everyday life: - 🎓 **Access & Opportunity:** Graduation represents years of family sacrifice, late nights, and collective community investment. Jordan challenged emerging scholars to take their education and immediately apply it toward defending public goods and neighborhood needs. - 🏛️ **Institutional Accountability:** Drawing from her experience defending the Constitution, Jordan reminded the audience that democracy relies on continuous community oversight and active participation—not quiet compliance. - 🛡️ **Rejecting Silence:** Demonstrating intergenerational leadership, Jordan emphasized that lasting safety and justice are built when everyday people, emerging leaders, and working families actively speak up for their rights and for one another. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-38.jpg) Black students at Brandeis commencement ### **The Story Behind the Lens** This 16mm news film captures snippets of student and faculty performances, wide shots of graduates gathered in the crowd, and rare sound bites from Barbara Jordan’s address. While news outlets filmed the event primarily as a standard package for quick broadcast, the archival audio preserves an essential moment of Black leadership and civic warning—reminding us how communities preserve their voice during times of political uncertainty. ### **Why It Matters Today** Five decades later, as public institutions, educational access, and voting rights face ongoing pressure, Barbara Jordan’s question remains just as urgent. Looking back at May 1976 reminds us that civic progress has never been maintained through silence. When structural foundations are challenged, communities draw strength from intergenerational wisdom, active engagement, and the courage to speak truth in public spaces. 🌊 **Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally.** **IN THE WAKE TV** is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. We document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1976 at Brandeis is a regional memory, but its heartbeat belongs to **one interconnected community that happens to live in many places**—from Newark and Camden to Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, and Brooklyn—where families continue to protect local resources, honor their elders, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### Boston, 1974: How Roxbury Reclaimed Power During African Liberation Month URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/boston-1974-how-roxbury-reclaimed-power-during-african-liberation-month/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T20:45:03.000Z On May 20, 1974, news broadcasts across Boston focused heavily on municipal political disputes and citywide tension. But along Warren Street in Roxbury, residents met the moment with a different focus. Marching from Dudley Square up the Warren Street corridor, hundreds of neighbors—youth, elders, local organizers, and working families—filled the thoroughfare with flags, banners, and signs declaring solidarity with Pan-African liberation movements. On the ground, the march was an expression of local unity, cultural pride, and community-led organizing. VISIT WWW.INTHEWAKE.TV to the watch archival footage and listen: ### **The Lived Experience** While official conversations centered on crisis management, residents used African Liberation Month to bring attention to the everyday realities shaping their neighborhood: - 🚇 **Access & Opportunity:** By gathering along Warren Street—the commercial and cultural heart of Roxbury—neighbors turned a primary thoroughfare into an open space for civic expression and shared purpose. - 💰 **Budgets & Real Lives:** Living with the effects of long-standing disinvestment, families connected local demands for municipal resource control, political accountability, and economic equity to broader global movements. - 🛡️ **Community Care:** Looking beyond the headlines of the era, neighbors demonstrated that lasting community strength is rooted in intergenerational relationships, mutual reliance, and cultural pride. ### **The Story Behind the Lens** - **Collection:** WCVB Collection - **Date Created:** May 20, 1974 - **Format:** 16mm Silent Film (Midday Story #8296B) Recorded on May 20, 1974, this silent 16mm archival footage captures residents walking up Warren Street, a van draped in handmade "African Liberation Month" banners, and community members lining the sidewalks to support the marchers. - **The Institutional Lens:** Television news stations originally treated the silent clip as brief background footage for a midday broadcast, centering the story on institutional commentary rather than the organizers. - **Reclaiming the Narrative:** Seen today, the footage documents the care and coordination required to sustain local community life: young people marching with purpose, neighborhood leaders managing logistics, and families showing up for one another. ### **Why It Matters Today** Five decades later, policy decisions continue to shape Black neighborhoods across the country without sufficient community input. When external narratives reduce neighborhood life to conflict, communities draw on their own history, imagination, and relationships to shape their future. 🌊 **Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally.** **IN THE WAKE TV** is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1974 Roxbury is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to **one interconnected community that happens to live in many places**—from Newark and Camden to Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, and Brooklyn—where families continue to protect local resources, honor their history, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. #InTheWakeTV #LivingArchive #Roxbury1974 #WCVBCollection #AfricanLiberationMonth #BlackBostonHistory #PeopleFirstLanguage #CommunityCare #UrbanHistory ### Pepsi, Knickerbocker Ice, and the Working Families Navigating NYC's 1950's Inflation URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/pepsi-knickerbocker-ice-and-the-working-families-navigating-nycs-1950s-inflation/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T09:52:52.000Z By 1950, post-war economic growth was reshaping urban life across New York and New Jersey, forcing working-class families to navigate corporate expansion alongside rising living costs. Archival footage from this era pairs two distinct moments of a changing city: corporate media coverage of a Pepsi Cost of Living Adjustment, alongside scenes of the Knickerbocker Ice Company. WATCH the full video on our website and sign up for our free weekly newsletter for more stories like these On paper, Pepsi’s Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) reflected a broader trend where major employers adjusted wages to match inflation. But inside Black, Brown, and working-class immigrant households, corporate wage formulas told a very different story. While adjustments helped keep pace with rising prices for food, rent, and utilities, corporate workforce structures were deeply divided by race, class, and gender. Black workers were frequently restricted to low-wage service and sanitation roles, while newly arrived European and Afro-Caribbean immigrants were channeled into dangerous, low-pay industrial jobs. Meanwhile, working women—who managed household budgets through every economic shift—faced limited access to equal pay or upward mobility. At the same time, manual industries were rapidly disappearing. Companies like Knickerbocker Ice, which once relied on thousands of local workers and immigrant laborers to deliver natural ice, were pushed aside by modern refrigeration and automated manufacturing. This wasn't just industrial progress; it was an economic collision. Corporate machines restructured to maximize profit, leveraging class divisions to keep labor cheap while working-class families bore the burden of every shift. The names of the corporate giants, the origin of the immigrants, and the mechanisms of automation change across decades, but the underlying struggle for working families remains the exact same today. #### **Why This Story Matters** - **People Over Systems:** Behind policy terms like "cost of living adjustments" are parents, immigrant workers, and households carrying the weight of economic shifts. - **Intersectional Solidarity:** The transition from physical labor to corporate machines exploited racial, gender, and immigrant class divides, making wage equity a shared, ongoing fight across all working communities. - **Connecting History to Present Day:** The struggle to match paychecks with living costs in 1950 mirrors today’s corporate automation, wage stagnation, and economic survival strategies across Newark, Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York. IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of the 1950 NYC economic collision between local Knickerbocker Ice and corporate giant Pepsi is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit and Philadelphia, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### Organizers and Communities Blueprint the Next Chapter of Civil Rights at the 2026 NAN Convention URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/organizers-and-communities-blueprint-the-next-chapter-of-civil-rights-at-the-2026-nan-convention/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T03:58:16.000Z For 35 years, the [National Action Network (NAN)](https://nanhomepage.com/?ref=inthewake.tv) has served as a gathering ground for advocacy, accountability, and collective action. At the [2026 NAN Annual Convention](https://www.nanconvention2026.com/?ref=inthewake.tv), led by Reverend Al Sharpton, the conversation centered on a crucial reality: the fight for civil and human rights is facing a modern turning point that requires intentional, community-driven strategy. Rather than focusing solely on speeches from the podium, coverage from the convention centers on the people, organizers, and neighborhoods carrying the work forward. ### **Watch the Story** --- ### **Addressing the Frontlines of Everyday Life** Throughout the gathering, activists and community members grounded the dialogue in the everyday conditions shaping Black life today, highlighting four key priorities: - **Economic and Housing Justice:** Examining how the rising cost of living, real estate shifts, and persistent institutional neglect directly affect family stability and neighborhood preservation. - **Moving from Bystander to Upstander:** Calling on individuals and neighbors to shift from passive observation to active engagement in defense of fairness, justice, and human dignity. - **The Mental Frontline:** Acknowledging that modern systemic challenges test mental and emotional well-being, reinforcing the need for educated, supported, and mentally empowered communities. - **Intention and Unity:** Reaffirming that community sustainability depends on how thoughtfully people protect, support, and care for one another. [National Action NetworkVideo’s delen met vrienden, familie en de rest van de wereld![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/icon/favicon_144x144-7b459b91-83a6-4018-9093-14c653fba237.png)YouTube![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/thumbnail/AIdro_kH1PclUbPl0cGPNPcXtsiCM-qfdyJjlRVOCpryb0QaVzc-s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj-a69fa757-c032-4535-9539-5c2b4dd0e76d)](https://www.youtube.com/@NationalActionNetwork?ref=inthewake.tv) --- ### ### From Hell’s Kitchen to Broadway: Alicia Keys Traces the Neighborhood That Shaped Her URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/from-hells-kitchen-to-broadway-alicia-keys-traces-the-neighborhood-that-shaped-her/ Last updated: 2026-07-26T04:40:59.000Z ### Rooted in the 1990s Long before the marquee lights of Broadway cast their glow, Alicia Keys was simply a young girl navigating the pavement of Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. In the 1990s, the neighborhood was defined by its grit, its noise, and an undeniable artistic pulse. Growing up in a single-mother household surrounded by local musicians, actors, and creators, Keys learned early that survival and self-expression were deeply intertwined. In the new documentary [*Alicia Keys: Girl From Hell’s Kitchen*](https://tribecafilm.com/films/closing-night-alicia-keys-girl-from-hell-s-kitchen-2026?ref=inthewake.tv), Tribeca alum One9 (*Nas: Time Is Illmatic*) brings this formative era into quiet, intimate focus. Rather than offering a standard celebrity recap, the film functions as a moving tribute to the place that breaks dreams, builds resilience, and fuels lasting art. ### Beyond the Headlines: The Lived Experience of Creation The documentary traces Keys’ journey from her neighborhood roots to the premiere of her Broadway musical, *Hell’s Kitchen*. But at its heart, the story remains centered on human relationships and personal growth: - **The Single-Mother Anchor:** The film honors the everyday realities, sacrifices, and quiet strength of growing up under the care of a single mother navigating her own challenges in the city. - **A Community of Artists:** It captures how a young woman sought artistic acceptance while enveloped by a creative ecosystem of neighbors, mentors, and fellow dreamers. - **The Weight of the Stage:** Through intimate home videos, personal archives, and modern footage, One9 documents the real pressures, uncertainties, and risks faced by the creative team behind a major stage production. Instead of focusing solely on multi-Grammy accolades, the film highlights the vulnerability required to turn childhood memory into community art. ### A Story That Speaks Beyond Manhattan While deeply rooted in a specific block of New York City, Keys’ narrative resonates across every city hub where Black life and culture thrive. From the block parties of Newark and Detroit to the neighborhood streets of Philadelphia and Boston, the story of local artistry born out of family love and community resilience is a shared regional legacy. ### Thai James is Redefining Who Belongs in Yoga URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/thai-james-is-redefining-who-belongs-in-yoga/ Last updated: 2026-07-25T14:00:39.000Z For two decades, Thai James navigated the physical demands of movement—first through dance, and later on the yoga mat. But where dance pushed for constant precision, strength, and an endless pursuit of perfection, yoga offered something fundamentally different: a space to show up exactly as he was. Now a veteran instructor based in New York City, James is working to reshape how wellness spaces are built and who they serve. His mission is straightforward: ensuring that the Black community and people from all backgrounds feel genuinely seen, heard, and welcomed in places that have historically felt exclusive. ### **Learning to Listen** From neighborhood studios across New York to retreat spaces in Bali, James teaches students to shift their focus away from external standards and tune into their own bodies. His approach centers on unlearning the rigid ideals often attached to the wellness industry, grounding his practice in a simple truth—everybody belongs on the mat. By cultivating self-awareness over performance, James is helping build a global community grounded in healing, body acceptance, and authentic belonging. - **B**rooklyn Yoga Project: [https://www.brooklynyogaproject.com/thai](https://www.brooklynyogaproject.com/thai?ref=inthewake.tv) - Follow Thai James on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/YogawithThai/](https://www.instagram.com/YogawithThai/?ref=inthewake.tv) - **Watch:** Subscribe to [Melissa Rose Cooper ](https://www.youtube.com/@melissarosecooper?ref=inthewake.tv)on YouTube for more untold stories and features from *IN THE WAKE TV*. ### God on Wheels: How Dr. Felecia Pullen and The Pillars Are Bringing Radical Sanctuary to Harlem URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/god-on-wheels-how-dr-felecia-pullen-and-the-pillars-are-bringing-radical-sanctuary-to-harlem/ Last updated: 2026-07-24T15:00:13.000Z Healing is an act of resistance, and community love remains our strongest defense. In the heart of Harlem, where systemic neglect and resource deprivation have long tested families and neighbors, a vision for wellness is taking root. Rather than waiting for external systems to fix what is broken, local leaders are reclaiming care on their own terms. [Dr. Felecia Pullen](https://www.pillarsnyc.org/team/?ref=inthewake.tv), Founder and CEO of [**The Pillars**](https://www.pillarsnyc.org/?ref=inthewake.tv), is rewriting the narrative of scarcity by dreaming bigger for her neighborhood. Through "God on Wheels," The Pillars carries unconditional support directly to the streets, meeting survival with radical love and bringing sanctuary to the people who need it most. ![Dr. Felecia Pullen, Founder and CEO of The Pillars](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-14.jpg) [Dr. Felecia Pullen](https://www.pillarsnyc.org/team/?ref=inthewake.tv), Founder and CEO of ****The Pillars** ### **Centering Humanity, Care, and Community Joy** In this feature, *IN THE WAKE TV* Founder [Jamara Wakefield](http://www.instagram.com/JamaraProducer?ref=inthewake.tv) sits down with Dr. Felecia Pullen to explore how community-led care transforms survival into long-term healing. Their conversation looks past institutions to center the lived experience of Harlem residents, exploring: - **Mobile Sanctuary:** How meeting people where they are dismantles the barriers built by systemic neglect. - **Reclaiming Wellness:** Why holistic care, connection, and joy belong to every community. - **Neighborhood Expertise:** How local leaders and residents hold the knowledge, love, and vision required to keep each other whole. **Learn More & Get Involved:** To support this ongoing work or connect with their programs, visit [The Pillars](https://www.pillarsnyc.org/?ref=inthewake.tv). ### Standing for Equity at Rochdale Village: How Queens Organizers Demanded Inclusion URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/standing-for-equity-at-rochdale-village-how-queens-organizers-demanded-inclusion/ Last updated: 2026-07-24T10:26:38.000Z #### In September 1963, as construction moved forward on the Rochdale Village housing cooperative in Queens, members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the NAACP gathered at 133rd Avenue and New York Boulevard to demand fair hiring practices. Captured in a three-minute surveillance reel recorded by the New York Police Department’s Bureau of Special Services, the silent footage offers a glimpse into local civil rights organizing in New York City. While government surveillance intended to observe the demonstration, the recording preserved a pivotal moment of community action. Demonstrators stood at the intersection to ensure Black workers were not excluded from the economic opportunities being created directly within their neighborhood. #### **A Site of Transformation** Long before Rochdale Village was built, the land served as the Jamaica Race Course, operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club and later the Greater New York Association. When racing operations shifted to Aqueduct Racetrack, the Jamaica track was closed in 1959 and demolished. In its place, the state pursued the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program to build affordable housing for low- and middle-income families. Architect Herman Jessor designed the sprawling complex, drawing inspiration from Le Corbusier's modern urban vision. Upon its opening, Rochdale Village became the largest private cooperative housing complex in the world. ![Demonstration Against Segregation In Hiring](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-31.jpg) Demonstration Against Segregation In Hiring #### **The Human Cost of Progress** Though envisioned as a national model for integrated living, the development was fraught with racial inequity from the start. Trade unions involved in constructing the site systematically excluded Black laborers—a hypocrisy documented in the 1963 National Educational Television program *Confronted*. As early as 1961, twenty-three protesters were arrested for disrupting construction, including William Booth, who would later head Mayor John V. Lindsay's Human Rights Commission. When the complex opened in 1963, about 10 percent of the units were allocated to Black residents. Over the following decade, discriminatory real estate practices like block-busting, paired with white flight driven by racial fear, rapidly altered the community’s demographics. By the early 1980s, institutional neglect left the complex struggling to maintain basic utilities, leaving many apartments vacant. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-32.jpg) Congress of Racial Equality; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) #### **Why This Story Matters** - **People Over Institutions:** While the footage originates from a police logbook, the real narrative belongs to the residents, organizers, and neighbors who put their bodies on the line to demand labor equity. - **Connecting History to Present Day:** The fight for job access and housing stability at Rochdale Village connects directly to ongoing conversations across Newark, Detroit, and New York regarding community wealth, development, and economic inclusion. - **Preserving the Living Archive:** Reclaiming surveillance footage allows us to center the dignity, intent, and agency of community organizers rather than the institutional lens that recorded them. IN THE WAKE TV is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black and Brown life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1963 NYC is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit and Philadelphia, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. ### A Miracle of Brotherhood: Dr. Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise Reflect on Survival, Memory, and Truth URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/a-miracle-of-brotherhood-dr-yusef-salaam-and-korey-wise-reflect-on-survival-memory-and-truth/ Last updated: 2026-07-24T01:33:10.000Z ### The Lived Experience Behind the Headlines Long before institutions and media headlines framed their lives, Dr. Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise were simply young people navigating the streets of New York City. In 1989, when the criminal legal system targeted them in the Central Park case, their youth and futures were upended by intensive psychological tactics. In this segment produced by **IN THE WAKE TV**, Salaam and Wise offer a thoughtful, deeply human reflection on the profound personal impact of those formative years—centering dignity, loyalty, and human connection over institutional narratives. ### Why We Produced This Piece: Love, Grace, and Unbroken Connection We produced this video because we were deeply moved by the friendship displayed during a deeply emotional panel at the National Action Network Convention. Sitting on that stage, Salaam and Wise didn't just talk about the past; they demonstrated a living testament to what it means to protect one another's humanity. We saw love, grace, and an unbreakable bond that has linked them together for life. ![Dr. Yusef Salaam at the 2026 National Action Network Convention NYC](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/thumb-26.jpg) Dr. Yusef Salaam at the 2026 National Action Network Convention NYC By pairing recent dialogue with historical archival footage, the segment creates an intimate bridge between past trial and present purpose: - **A Brotherhood Forged in Grace:** The piece moves beyond legal summaries to honor the real, affection-filled connection between two men who have held each other up through every season of life. - **Navigating Youth & Pressure:** Through their own words, the piece delicately examines the psychological tactics deployed against them as teenagers, highlighting the sheer resilience it took to hold onto their integrity. - **An Enduring Miracle:** Salaam and Wise describe the strength of their connection as a "miracle"—a deep, protective loyalty that sustained them through isolation and incarceration, ensuring that their truth and shared history could never be erased. ## Visual Ethics & Reclaiming the Narrative: ### The Mugshot Policy **We do not publish mugshots, booking photos, or mugshot-style imagery—especially of children and youth.** The carceral system routinely uses booking photos to criminalize Black people, strip away their dignity, and define them by legal status long before trial. - **The Historical Exception:** In rare archival or documentary reflections (such as the Central Park Five case), historical booking images are referenced or handled with extreme care *only* to juxtapose the adult someone became against the child they were—reiterating how the carceral system routinely treats Black youth as adults. As well as to honor that children exist in the future as adults and Black children deserve to exist in the future as adults, so many Black boys never made it to adulthood from chattel slavery to Emmet Till to Mike Brown to Jor’Dell Richardson to Trayvon Martin and the list is heart breaking and never ending. - Outside of deliberate, restorative historical framing, mugshots have no place in our storytelling. ### Rooted Locally, Relevant Nationally While anchored in the history of New York City, the story of Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise carries a regional and national resonance. Their lived experience echoes conversations taking place across Newark, Philadelphia, Detroit, and urban hubs nationwide where families, organizers, and elders actively safeguard their stories and push for systemic accountability. By prioritizing human relationships over legal summaries, this piece invites audiences to move beyond knowing *what happened* to understanding the deep humanity and lasting love of the men who lived it. ### 60 Years of Jazz in the Garden URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/60-years-of-jazz-in-the-garden/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T11:39:53.000Z Sixty years of music, memory, and shared joy on the garden lawn. When music hits right, it doesn't just entertain—it holds space for history, emotion, and community connection. At the [Newark Museum of Art](https://www.newarkmuseumart.org/?ref=inthewake.tv)’s milestone 60th Anniversary Jazz in the Garden, the jazz community gathered for an unforgettable performance by Grammy-nominated vocalist and [2024 Jazz Journalism Society's Jazz Hero Antoinette Montague](https://jjajazzawards.org/2024-jazz-hero-antoinette-montague/?ref=inthewake.tv), hosted by WBGO’s[ Sheila Anderson.](https://www.wbgo.org/people/sheila-anderson?ref=inthewake.tv) ### The Undeniable Legacy of Norma Miller URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/the-undeniable-legacy-of-norma-miller/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T09:05:18.000Z ## Norma Miller—a dancer, choreographer, comedian, and undisputed “Queen of Swing”—didn’t just dance the Lindy Hop; she helped invent a movement that transcended generations. ### Rooted in Harlem, Connected to the World Norma Miller’s story is a powerful reminder of how a local movement on a single block in Harlem can ripple out to shape global culture. She was an artist who turned every stage into a space of freedom, humor, and dignity. Whether you are a lifelong lover of jazz history or discovering the Lindy Hop for the first time, this tribute invites you to do more than learn about a legend—it invites you to feel the pulse of a community that continues to dance forward. Renowned choreographer and actress [Debbie Allen](https://www.instagram.com/therealdebbieallen/?ref=inthewake.tv) offers deeply personal reflections on how Miller carved open spaces for her and future generations of Black performers, illustrating how legacy is actively passed down through mentorship and shared space. Jazz vocalist Antoinette Montague anchors the narrative in the soulful, personal connection to Miller, lending a voiceover that bridges the pulse of jazz music with the movement of swing dance. Complementing their reflections, [WBGO host Gary Walker](https://www.wbgo.org/people/gary-walker?ref=inthewake.tv) reflects on his interview with Miller and the lasting impact of her talent. Together, their voices transform the tribute from a passive historical retrospective into an intimate, multi-generational conversation about Black joy, creative rigor, and community memory. ### Beyond Cosmetic Inclusion: How Stevenson Gallery Champions Artist Sovereignty URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/beyond-cosmetic-inclusion-how-stevenson-gallery-champions-artist-sovereignty/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T10:25:43.000Z In a global art market where cultural representation can often feel performative or transactional, South Africa’s renowned [Stevenson Gallery](https://www.stevenson.info/gallery?ref=inthewake.tv) operates from a different North Star.. For 23 years, the gallery—with spaces in Cape Town and Johannesburg—has worked to protect the raw, uncompromised intentions of the artists they represent, ensuring creative integrity takes precedence over market trends. ### **Watch the Story** Watch the conversation at [Frieze NYC ](https://www.frieze.com/fairs/frieze-new-york?ref=inthewake.tv)with Jamara Wakefield, Sinazo Chiya, and Lerato Bereng to explore how holding space for real, lived resonance creates an anchor that outlasts the global art market. When Sinazo Chiya and Lerato Bereng talk about representing artists on the world stage, they don't start with market trends or global prestige. They start with something much simpler and far more demanding: fundamental respect. For the directors of South Africa’s Stevenson Gallery, protecting an artist means understanding the context behind the work, honoring where it comes from, and doing something as basic—and essential—as making sure people pronounce their names correctly. In an art market that often flattens Black creativity into a commodity, Chiya and Bereng treat cultural stewardship as a daily practice rather than a slogan. That grounding is clear in *Basali Bamo China*, the latest work from South African artist Simphiwe Ndzube. Rather than reducing working-class life to a story of relentless struggle, Ndzube turns his lens toward the quiet rhythms of everyday humanity—the moments of rest, leisure, and community that unfold outside the gaze of the marketplace. By centering that lived experience, the work reminds us that real support isn't about fitting artists into external expectations; it is about creating space for them to exist on their own terms. Core themes explored in the feature include: - **Protecting the Artist’s Vision:** How a 23-year commitment to artist sovereignty resists commercial pressures. - **Cultural Grounding:** Why true representation requires representatives who understand, honor, and accurately speak to an artist's context. - **Documenting Lived Realities:** How Simphiwe Ndzube’s *Basali Bamo China* highlights both the quiet leisure and daily dignity of working-class South Africans. - **Reporting:** Jamara Wakefield for *IN THE WAKE TV* - **Featured:** Sinazo Chiya & Lerato Bereng - [Stevenson Gallery Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/stevenson%5Fza/?ref=inthewake.tv) - **Featured Artist:** Simphiwe Ndzube ### Boston Soundscapes: The Beat Explorers Redefine "Trap Jazz" URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/boston-soundscapes-the-beat-explorers-redefine-trap-jazz/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T03:53:44.000Z In Boston’s evolving music scene, **The Beat Explorers** are carving out a distinct, genre-bending space. Self-described as "trap jazz," the collective blends the improvisational depth of traditional jazz with the heavy, modern rhythms of trap music, capturing the creative energy driving the city's neighborhood soundscapes. Bringing together a deep dynamic of melody and pulse, the lineup features: - **Safarihatking** on saxophone - **Kazi Didit** on keys - **Ephron** on bass - **Diggity Dom** on percussion - **Blondie** on drums Together, their work highlights the innovation, memory, and raw imagination of Boston artists expanding the boundaries of contemporary Black music. ### Carrying the Sound: Celebrating Louis Armstrong’s 125th Birthday URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/carrying-the-sound-celebrating-louis-armstrongs-125th-birthday/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T02:58:24.000Z From July 4 through August 4, listeners and communities nationwide are coming together to honor the 125th birthday of Louis Armstrong. Known warmly across generations as "Pops," Armstrong transformed the landscape of American music through his genius as a trumpeter and vocalist, infusing Black artistic tradition with unmatched joy, innovation, and depth. ![Louis Armstrong plays music on steps with children](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/image-7.png) Louis Armstrong plays music on steps with children As the nation reflects on its 250th anniversary, Armstrong’s legacy lives on—not as a distant historical icon, but as a vibrant thread connecting artists, neighborhoods, and creative energy from coast to coast. To commemorate his birthday, the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation has launched a national radio campaign featuring reflections from contemporary leaders in the music community, including trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, and radio announcers across the country. Their voices highlight how Armstrong’s humor, brilliance, and humanity continue to guide and inspire musicians working today. ### **Listen to the Tributes** - **Wycliffe Gordon**: Listen below to a message from Wycliffe Gordon - **Jeremy Pelt**: Listen below to a message from Jeremy Pelt Learn more about the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation [https://louisarmstrongfoundation.org/](https://louisarmstrongfoundation.org/?ref=inthewake.tv) ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/media/2026/07/Louis-Armstrong-July-4th-_Wycliffe-Gordon--Short-_thumb.jpg) Listen to a special message from Wycliffe Gordon 0:00 /25.283991 1× ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/media/2026/07/Pops.-AUDO-EDITS-CW_thumb.png) Listen to a special message from Jeremy Pelt 0:00 /39.018667 1× ### Memory, Lineage, and the Table We Share: Why Pittsburgh’s Jazz Festival Matters for The Culture URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/memory-lineage-and-the-table-we-share-why-pittsburghs-jazz-gathering-matters-for-the-culture/ Last updated: 2026-07-22T18:38:51.000Z When playwright August Wilson documented Black life, he anchored his work in the belief that history, humor, struggle, and imagination are best understood through the everyday cadences and lived experiences of real people. Inside the Pittsburgh institution bearing his name, that living archive continues—not only through text, but through the enduring pulse of American jazz. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/August-Wilson-768x520-1.jpg) Playwright August Wilson was born in the Hill District in 1945. As the 16th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival prepares to open at the August Wilson [African American Cultural Center (AWAACC)](https://awaacc.org/?ref=inthewake.tv), the gathering represents far more than a weekend of performances. It serves as a vital mirror of cultural continuity, legacy, and community health. At 26 years old, vocalist[ Samara Joy](https://www.samarajoy.com/?ref=inthewake.tv) embodies the delicate balance of honoring heritage while shaping the future. By reinterpreting the Great American Songbook with emotional clarity and personal phrasing, her artistry bridges generational divides. She joins a vast continuum—sharing a program alongside masters such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Bernard Purdie, Lalah Hathaway, and Pittsburgh’s own Roger Humphries Sr. In their hands, jazz is never treated as a static historical artifact; it remains a dynamic conversation between elders, young artists, and the community. ![16th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival flyer featuring Samara Joy](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/unnamed-1-1.jpg) 16th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival flyer Crucially, cultural memory is rarely sustained on stage alone. It lives equally in how people gather off the stage. The festival's intentional pairing of local music with neighborhood culinary traditions—bringing together regional vocalists, drummers, and local food makers—honors the traditional Black gathering space, where music and food function as catalysts for fellowship. For communities across Pittsburgh and the surrounding region, institutions like the AWAACC offer an essential physical anchor. They are spaces designed for Black artistry, imagination, and collective joy to exist in their full complexity. Gatherings like this remind us that preserving our sound, our stories, and our spaces is not merely about entertainment—it is about preserving our collective identity and honoring the people who build it every day. For more information visit [https://pittsburghjazzfest.org/](https://pittsburghjazzfest.org/?ref=inthewake.tv) ### Creatives Gather in SoHo to Celebrate _BY.ALEXANDER’s Sonic Journey and Cultural Anchor URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/creatives-gather-in-soho-to-celebrate-_by-alexanders-sonic-journey-and-cultural-anchor/ Last updated: 2026-07-22T13:57:33.000Z In SoHo, members of New York’s creative vanguard—including ASAP Ferg and Taofeek Abijako—gathered at 66 Greene Street for an exclusive first-listen of his deluxe album, *MEMORIES FOR SALE — AT — 66 GREENE ST, SOHO, NY*, alongside the debut of its accompanying visualizer. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/141-ALIZ2135.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/110-ALIZ2022.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/46-ALIZ1773.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/12-ALIZ1671.jpg) ****Moments Captured** by ALIZAYUH More than an album release, the evening reflected how physical spaces can become vital hubs for Black artistry, imagination, and shared memory. As an amorphic concept store, music venue, and editorial studio, 66 Greene Street serves as a localized anchor designed to shift the broader cultural landscape. > **ALBUM PREVIEW FOR LISTENING** [**HERE** ](https://tracking.launchmetrics.com/?ref=LhQAAIRib2lRJqtwxcl0Pz-qPa5o5CSUAQAAAPfTxggUWCrZ-PpgifYcW16wqwDriG3SKxu76fEVu1ubQZyzkyjmb%5Fq2fzpXwI3alzG5NUW9ib1aExChkGXdtK317kHucpRB2WSBJBG6q4J-lMXghf%5FJF553PWpTsja1AaDOsYXKZVQQWkoHSNdcGSZCpRuX6i3AKaiscdsNTAlSvNmJUiBrHF8M8yD%5FohJ8%5FD1u15TA1v24z9U1%5FPYUC0P6eVuLI2TzxGxhz3XZmKw%5F) The gathering brought together collaborators past and present to celebrate journey, identity, and creative energy. With Stonie Blue providing the soundtrack on the decks and specialty cocktails served by Hennessy V.S.O.P, the night centered the real people and relationships that make the city's artistic community thrive. > [**\_BY.ALEXANDER Online**](https://byalexander.com/?ref=inthewake.tv) ### City Hall, 1952: Robert Moses and City Officials Plan 'Slum Clearance'—While Families Fight to Remain Rooted URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/city-hall-1952-robert-moses-and-city-officials-plan-slum-clearance-while-families-fight-to-remain-rooted/ Last updated: 2026-07-22T12:44:33.000Z In June 1952, city leaders gathered inside New York City Hall to map out the future of urban development. Using sanitized institutional language like "slum clearance," committee members made decisions that would ultimately uproot tens of thousands of working-class Black, Brown, and immigrant families across Manhattan. At *IN THE WAKE TV*, we know a housing story is never just about municipal budgets, blueprints, or real estate—it is about real families trying to remain rooted in the neighborhoods they built, loved, and called home. - 🏠 **Rooted Communities:** Blocks across Manhattan—from San Juan Hill to East Harlem—were vibrant ecosystems of small businesses, culture, and mutual support before being labeled for demolition. - 📜 **Policy & Power:** Officials like Parks Commissioner Robert Moses wielded immense authority, shaping housing policies that prioritized development projects over the stability of local residents. - ✊🏾 **The Human Reality:** Behind every official decree of "blight" were working-class neighbors forced to navigate displacement, fighting continuously for fair housing and human dignity. ### **The Story Behind the Lens (The Living Archive: REC0047\_1\_0192)** Recorded on June 10, 1952, this 10-minute WNYC-TV broadcast captures Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, and Manhattan Borough President Robert F. Wagner during a Slum Clearance Committee meeting. - **The Institutional Lens:** Government cameras documented a polished press conference showcasing municipal progress and urban renewal. - **Reclaiming the Narrative:** Looking past the official press release, our history centers the people who lived with these policies. Policies matter because families live with them, and what city officials wrote off as "slums" were the very spaces where working-class life, memory, and community thrived. ### **Why It Matters Today** Decades after the era of "slum clearance," the struggle against displacement, gentrification, and housing insecurity remains an urgent reality across our cities. Looking back at this City Hall meeting reminds us why we must always put people before institutions and ask the fundamental questions: *Who benefits, who bears the burden, and how do we protect community roots?* 🌊 **Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally.** **IN THE WAKE TV** is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The history of urban renewal in Manhattan is an NYC story, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit and Philadelphia, where families continue to protect their blocks, preserve local culture, and fight for a just future. #InTheWakeTV #LivingArchive #HousingJustice #RobertMoses #CityHall1952 #CommunityRoots #PeopleFirstLanguage #UrbanHistory ### Morningside Heights, 1972: Shirley Chisholm Challenges Educators to Build Classrooms for Liberation URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/morningside-heights-1972-shirley-chisholm-challenges-educators-to-build-classrooms-for-liberation/ Last updated: 2026-07-22T12:28:43.000Z Chisholm didn't deliver a detached academic lecture. Speaking with the clarity of a former nursery teacher and community advocate, Chisholm reminded educators that a school is never just an institution or a budget line—it’s about children, human dignity, and our collective future: - 📚 **Classrooms for Liberation:** Spaces where youth learn their history and claim their power. - 🏛️ **Accountability:** Demanding universities serve the working-class families around them. ### **The Story Behind the Lens (The Living Archive: REC0047\_1\_2782)** This 17-minute WNYC broadcast captures an "unbought and unbossed" leader using her national platform to center the lived experiences of children, teachers, and families over institutional agendas. ### **Why It Matters Today** Listening over 50 years later, Chisholm offers a living blueprint: real learning begins with human dignity, and communities have always possessed the wisdom to guide their own youth forward. 🌊 **Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally.** **IN THE WAKE TV** documents Black life where it is lived. This Morningside Heights story belongs to every neighborhood from Newark to Detroit, where parents and educators protect learning spaces and build futures rooted in collective progress. #InTheWakeTV #LivingArchive #ShirleyChisholm #TeachersCollege #BlackEducation #MorningsideHeights #PeopleFirstLanguage #NYCArchives ### New York City, 1975: Beyond 'Fear City'—How Working-Class Families Navigated Fear Mongering and Fiscal Crisis URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/new-york-city-1975-beyond-fear-city-how-working-class-families-navigated-fear-mongering-and-fiscal-crisis/ Last updated: 2026-07-22T12:18:12.000Z In June 1975, at the peak of New York City’s severe fiscal crisis, municipal unions distributed an infamous pamphlet to tourists arriving at local airports: *"Welcome to Fear City."* It warned visitors to stay off the streets, stay off the subways, and treat the city as a danger zone. While politicians, unions, and news outlets weaponized fear to fight over city budgets, working-class Black and Brown neighbors were the ones living with the reality. As officials slashed bus lines, hiked transit fares, and cut essential public services, residents refused to let headlines define their home: - 🚇 **Access & Opportunity:** Working-class commuters fought to protect transit routes that connected families to jobs, healthcare, and schools. - 💰 **Budgets & Real Lives:** Families bore the immediate burden of municipal austerity while City Hall debated numbers. - 🛡️ **Rejecting the Stigma:** Neighborhoods proved that true community safety wasn't built on panic pamphlets, but on neighbors looking out for one another. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/Fear-City1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/fear-city-2-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/fear-city-3-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/fear-city-4-1.png) Fear City original brochure ### **The Story Behind the Lens (The Living Archive: REC0047\_1\_3339)** - **The Institutional Lens:** City officials and union representatives treated the crisis as a war of optics, press releases, and political leverage. - **Reclaiming the Narrative:** Looking past the political crossfire, our history remembers the everyday residents who kept their blocks alive, maintained their dignity, and sustained their communities through severe systemic disinvestment. ### **Why It Matters Today** Decades later, sensational headlines and austerity politics still weaponize fear against working-class neighborhoods. Looking back at 1975 reminds us that budgets are never just numbers—families depend on them. When institutional systems push panic, communities possess the imagination, care, and solidarity to keep each other grounded. 🌊 **Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally.** **IN THE WAKE TV** is a community-centered media platform rooted in New York and New Jersey. Through original storytelling, photography, and curated journalism, we document Black and Brown life where it is lived while highlighting the relationships that connect our communities across regions. The story of 1975 NYC is a local history, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark and Camden to Detroit and Philadelphia, where families continue to reclaim their narrative, protect local resources, and build futures rooted in collective dignity. #InTheWakeTV #LivingArchive #FearCity1975 #TransitJustice #PeopleFirstLanguage #CommunityCare #NYCArchives #UrbanHistory ### 111th Street & Lexington Ave, 1970: The Young Lords and East Harlem Neighbors Reclaim a Sanctuary for Care URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/111th-street-lexington-ave-1970-the-young-lords-and-east-harlem-neighbors-reclaim-a-sanctuary-for-care/ Last updated: 2026-07-18T11:18:01.000Z The story of the People’s Church is an East Harlem story, but its heartbeat belongs to every neighborhood from Newark to Detroit, where neighbors continue to look out for one another and reclaim local spaces. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Denise Oliver-Vélez, Pioneering Young Lord & Black Panther, Dies at 78 URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/denise-oliver-velez-pioneering-young-lord-black-panther-dies-at-78/ Last updated: 2026-07-18T09:55:54.000Z Lifelong activist, organizer and educator Denise Oliver-Vélez has died at the age of 78\. She was a central figure in the civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s and was the first woman elected to the Young Lords Central Committee, a radical Puerto Rican human rights group modeled on the Black Panther Party, which Oliver-Vélez was also a member of. She later became the first Black female program director in public radio and taught at SUNY New Paltz. As a founding member of the Young Lords, *Democracy Now!*'s Juan González worked alongside Oliver-Vélez. “She helped develop many of \[the Young Lords'\] Serve the People programs and helped to shape and write some of the key literature we produced back then,” says González, adding that “Denise was never afraid to speak her mind, to challenge authority and to tell her comrades what they needed to hear — not what they wanted to hear — and she always did it with love and kindness.” Your support is vital to sustain and grow Democracy Now! [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/unnamed.png)](https://www.democracynow.org/donate/?gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=2075256369&gbraid=0AAAAAD4j6VUOVFYud0q-LFKIU9m6C4VdG&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgNqgxJK%5FlQMVs0T%5FAR0jtjPUEAAYASAAEgKoWPD%5FBwE&ref=inthewake.tv) Monthly donations provide Democracy Now! with support we can count on in a time of many unknowns. Help make sure Democracy Now! is here today, and tomorrow too, with a monthly donation. [SUPPORT DEMOCRACY NOW! ](https://www.democracynow.org/donate/?gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=2075256369&gbraid=0AAAAAD4j6VUOVFYud0q-LFKIU9m6C4VdG&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgNqgxJK%5FlQMVs0T%5FAR0jtjPUEAAYASAAEgKoWPD%5FBwE&ref=inthewake.tv) Democracy Now! Rush Transcript available in the original article link below. [Original Article Link ](https://www.democracynow.org/2026/7/17/denise%5Foliver%5Fvelez?ref=inthewake.tv) ### Jazz as a Living Practice of Freedom URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/jazz-as-a-living-practice-of-freedom/ Last updated: 2026-07-18T09:02:52.000Z **NEW YORK CITY** — At the 2026 [NYC Winter JazzFest](https://www.winterjazzfest.com/?ref=inthewake.tv), the performance *My Country ’Tis of Thee: Freedom Riders* transcended a typical musical set to become an invocation of memory and resistance. Journalist [Melissa Rose Cooper ](https://melissarosecooper.com/?ref=inthewake.tv)sat down with instrumentalist [Tomoki Sanders ](https://www.tomokisanders.com/?ref=inthewake.tv)and composer [Adegoke Steve Colson ](https://www.facebook.com/colsonsmusic/)at [*(le) poisson rouge*](http://lpr.com/?ref=inthewake.tv) to explore how jazz functions as a tool for communal responsibility and liberation. Their dialogue reminds us that jazz is far from a museum piece—it is an active map of struggle and possibility. ### City of Flint holds press conference on Canadian Wildfire Smoke and Air Quality Concerns URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/city-of-flint-holds-press-conference-on-canadian-wildfire-smoke-and-air-quality-concerns/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T14:09:48.000Z _No content available._ ### Sustaining the Fabric of Downtown Newark: Neighbors and Leaders Celebrate Decades of Community and Labor at Hobby’s Deli URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/sustaining-the-fabric-of-downtown-newark-neighbors-and-leaders-celebrate-decades-of-community-and-labor-at-hobbys-deli/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T14:00:04.000Z For decades, local anchors like Hobby’s Deli have served as more than just places to eat; they are cross-generational gathering grounds where Newark’s history is shared and preserved over daily meals. When city leaders and residents gathered to honor this landmark, the moment transcended a standard municipal ceremony. It became a celebration of the enduring relationships, worker dedication, and deep neighborhood roots that keep a community anchored through times of transition. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55129891242_33303200a4_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55129891247_4bf4429711_c-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55130969283_97269aedd2_c-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55131019664_59ecbc15f1_c.jpg) ****Photo Credit:** Newark Press Office (March 5, 2026) ### ROOT CAUSE: Investigating the Root Cause and Aftermath of System Harm URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/root-cause-investigating-the-root-cause-and-aftermath-of-system-harm/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T13:37:31.000Z This justice vertical is dedicated to examining how structural harm and policy decisions directly impact the daily lives of families, neighbors, and local communities. Rather than allowing government agencies or official press releases to define the narrative, we place the lived experiences of directly affected people at the very center of our storytelling. Through compassionate reporting and precise investigation, **ROOT CAUSE** explores not only the structural forces behind system harm but also the profound, everyday ways communities heal, organize, and build solutions in the aftermath. ### **Meet the Host: Tonisha Taylor** **Dr. Tonisha Taylor** brings a rich blend of academic leadership, professional social work practice, and grassroots advocacy to her role as the host of *ROOT CAUSE*. - **Academic Leadership:** Tonisha serves as the Dean of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Community Engagement - **Teaching Experience:** She has taught social work, psychology, sociology, and English courses at various higher education institutions across the New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas. - **Credentials & Studies:** She is a licensed social worker, an accomplished speaker, and a published author. Tonisha earned her BA in Psychology from Medgar Evers College/CUNY, a Master of Social Work from Hunter College/CUNY, an MA in Language and Literacy from City College/CUNY, and an Ed.S in Adult Education from Walden University. She is currently a doctoral student at the Monmouth University School of Social Work. - **Community Roots:** Embodying the belief that neighborhoods are the true experts in their own lives, Tonisha is the founder and board president of *Shine A Light NJ*, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ### **The Reporting Team** This vertical is brought to life through a collaborative, community-first vision, hosted by Tonisha Taylor alongside the dedicated **IN THE WAKE TV** team: - **Shayna Wakefield** - **Antoinette Montague** - **Jamara Wakefield** ### A Masterclass in Rhythm with Drummer Nikki Glaspie URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/bts/a-masterclass-in-rhythm-with-drummer-nikki-glaspie/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T14:03:40.000Z Ahead of her performance with [The Nth Power](https://thenthpowermusic.com/?ref=inthewake.tv) supporting [Snarky Puppy](https://www.snarkypuppy.com/?ref=inthewake.tv) at the[ Count Basie Center for the Arts](https://thebasie.org/?ref=inthewake.tv) in Red Bank, NJ, legendary drummer [Nikki Glaspie](https://www.nikkiglaspie.com/?ref=inthewake.tv) sat down with writer and cultural worker [Jamara Wakefield](https://www.instagram.com/jamaraproducer?ref=inthewake.tv) for an uncompromising, soulful dialogue. From touring the globe to anchoring the rhythm section, Nikki unpacks what it means to carry the heartbeat of our people, issuing an urgent call to action: **Make something.** This conversation maps the deep structural power of Black creativity, linking artistic genius directly to the broader struggle for self-determination: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/3---The-Nth-Power---Photo-by-Elle-Jay.jpg) Nth Power photo provided by Artist - **The Truth of the Rhythm Section:** Nikki breaks down the spiritual foundation of the beat. The drum is our oldest communicator—a tool used to signal, heal, and unite our people across artificial geographic borders, connecting Red Bank to Newark, Harlem, and beyond. - **Reclaiming Our Value:** In a system designed to extract our labor and resources, our imagination is a territory that cannot be occupied. When we create, we practice self-sovereignty. - **A Universal Call to Create:** This isn’t about corporate perfection; it is about the sacred necessity of expression. Whether you are picking up a drumstick, a paintbrush, a pen, or a camera, making art is how we reclaim our humanity and document our survival. > "Make something. Whether it’s music, a drawing, or a photo, our creativity is our greatest value." — Nikki Glaspie ### Preserving the Sacred Groove: NEA Jazz Master Dorthaan Kirk Champions Black Brilliance and the Birth of WBGO URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/preserving-the-sacred-groove-nea-jazz-master-dorthaan-kirk-champions-black-brilliance-and-the-birth-of-wbgo/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T10:16:26.000Z With the release of the [**Bright Moments** podcast](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1252263773/bright-moments?ref=inthewake.tv) from [WBGO Studios](https://www.wbgo.org/podcast/bright-moments-podcast?ref=inthewake.tv), we are invited into a masterclass on cultural sovereignty. This storytelling project centers Kirk’s foundational, history-making role in the birth of WBGO, Newark Public Radio. This is not just radio history; it is the blueprint of how we claim space, sustain our artists, and organize our communities from the ground up. ### **Rooted Locally. Connected Regionally. Relevant Nationally.** Our stories are never isolated. Dorthaan Kirk’s work is a testament to how deep, local grassroots organizing feeds a vast, interconnected ecosystem: - **Rooted Locally:** This story begins in Newark, at the WBGO studios, where Kirk’s hands-on community organizing built a trusted home for the culture. - **Connected Regionally:** The sound of Newark’s airwaves has always traveled, linking New Jersey, New York, Detroit, Boston, and every city where Black creative life breathes. We are one interconnected community that happens to live in many places. - **Relevant Nationally:** The struggle to preserve Black creative spaces and secure self-determination for our artists is a national conversation. By elevating Kirk’s legacy, we contribute to a broader understanding of cultural equity, collective memory, and progress. **Tune in to the *Bright Moments* podcast today to hear how Dorthaan Kirk continues to champion our communities, preserve our sacred spaces, and keep our joy alive.** ### Mayor Ras Baraka Champions Early Childhood Sovereignty in Newark URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/mayor-ras-baraka-champions-early-childhood-sovereignty-in-newark/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T04:39:57.000Z # ### **The Wake Analysis:** Dismantling the Architecture of Scarcity For generations, educational redlining has functioned as a form of systemic neglect—a deliberate withholding of the resources our families need to thrive. But scarcity is an engineering choice, and so is resistance. By bringing top-tier early education directly into our neighborhoods, this initiative actively pushes back against decades of institutional starvation. Ensuring our children are nurtured, loved, and set up for success from day one is not a luxury. It is a sacred, non-negotiable right. This is how we build a future rooted in local sovereignty. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55391096561_327e76dcda_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55391116778_841d0e7bd0_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55391162149_86cfc53b68_c.jpg) **Photo Credit: Newark Press Office* ### Flint, MI Champions Black Sovereignty and Collective Healing for Juneteenth 2026 URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/flint-mi-celebrates-juneteenth-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T04:33:19.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468556126_9074186039300727_1596159564843161256_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468564886_9074186019300729_3741462958886451452_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468568693_9074186092634055_9183723767705905396_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468573730_9074185912634073_4438281241882502278_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468574507_9074185872634077_2573636691797280919_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468622304_9074186045967393_6866356858726508073_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468623557_9074186115967386_9038490385604016148_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468635859_9074185849300746_3050596408308790696_n.jpg) 2026 Juneteenth Celebration Flint, MI Photo credit: [Alexandria Chrisele Photography.](https://www.linkedin.com/company/alexandriachriselephoto?ref=inthewake.tv) **FLINT, Mich.** — Hundreds of residents took to the streets of Flint on Friday to mark Juneteenth, transforming public thoroughfares into sites of collective healing and celebrating Black sovereignty in a city historically shaped by systemic state neglect. The celebrations, which spanned multiple neighborhoods, served as both a cultural sanctuary and a direct response to decades of resource deprivation. Organizers framed the events not merely as holiday recreation, but as an active assertion of territorial sovereignty over public spaces. "Gathering in joy on this soil is an act of resistance," said local organizer Marcus Harrison. "For years, the state engineered scarcity in our neighborhoods, turning our basic survival into a fight. Today, we are declaring that our community, our joy, and our future belong to us." ### Black House Black Joy Film Series Teaser URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/black-house-black-joy-film-series-teaser/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T04:10:57.000Z From legendary DJs and dance floors to the intergenerational impact of the music, each episode explores how House music in Newark is more than a genre—it is a movement, a sanctuary, and a way of life. This innovative series redefines traditional storytelling by presenting a collection of short, interconnected clips that can be watched in any order, creating a unique, non-linear narrative experience. The non-linear format allows for endless possibilities in how the story unfolds, making each viewing session a fresh and engaging experience. This format also allows the filmmakers to continue their work long-term while utilizing an expansive archive of over 10,000 hours of footage without leaving anything on the cutting room floor. There is no waste; everything is repurposed to tell the story. "Black House Black Joy: Mosaic Stories" invites audiences to immerse themselves in a world where every clip is a piece of a larger puzzle, offering a multifaceted perspective on the themes of community, resilience, and joy. This series is not just about documenting history—it’s about keeping the culture alive. By centering the voices of those who live, breathe, and create within the scene, the series honors the legacy of Black joy, freedom, and expression through House music. Join us as we celebrate the past, present, and future of House music in Newark, one beat at a time, in the House that New Jersey built. ### Walking with Our Ancestors URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/walking-with-our-ancestors/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T04:02:22.000Z **Senior Producer Ahsinet Scott Brown reporting for In the Wake TV participated in the Enslaved African Legacy Tour at Van Cortlandt Park**, an educational experience dedicated to uncovering and honoring the history of enslaved Africans and Indigenous people in the Bronx. Guided by • **Nick Dembowski**, Site Historian at the Van Cortlandt House Museum, and • **Ashley Adams**, Arts Integration Specialist with the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance To visit and learn more go to [https://www.vchm.org/](https://www.vchm.org/?ref=inthewake.tv) IN THE WAKE TV Our cultural and society coverage records how our communities heal, create, and fight back. [BECOME A MEMBER TODAY ](#/portal/support) ### IN THE WAKE TV x Tribeca 2026 URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/in-the-wake-tv-x-tribeca-2026/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T21:11:15.000Z _No content available._ ### Defend Life, Reject Exploitation: LIVE from the Romanch’s Law Hearing on Central Park Carriages URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/defend-life-reject-exploitation-live-from-the-romanchs-law-hearing-on-central-park-carriages/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T20:31:06.000Z IN THE WAKE TV refuses to pit the survival of marginalized carriage drivers against the liberation of living creatures. Instead, we expose the system that forces working-class people to rely on the exhaustion of animals just to survive in a gentrifying city. Join our live coverage as organizers defend a new vision for NYC—one rooted in economic sovereignty, environmental justice, and radical love. *(Photo Credit: Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit).* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55395770165_2f445522e0_c-1.jpg) Bill Hearing for Romanch’s Law to End Horse-Drawn Carriages in Central Park ### Half a Century of Sweet Bread & Staying Power: Celebrating Le Foyer Bakery’s 50-Year Legacy in Mattapan URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/half-a-century-of-sweet-bread-staying-power-celebrating-le-foyer-bakerys-50-year-legacy-in-mattapan/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T20:00:23.000Z On July 15th, Babson Street filled with music, laughter, and the rich scent of warm spices as community members gathered to honor the golden anniversary of Le Foyer Bakery—a sacred Mattapan anchor that has spent a half-century serving up legendary Haitian patties, sweet bread, and everyday joy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55395671043_12eecf64ee_c.jpg) In a system where predatory real estate and rising costs too often try to push our institutions out, reaching 50 years of operation isn't just a milestone; it is a beautiful act of staying power and local sovereignty. Le Foyer is so much more than a business—it is a sanctuary of culture and connection where we are always welcomed with open arms. Here’s to 50 more years of loving our people, feeding our souls, and keeping our roots strong! *(July 15, 2026 — Photo by Isabel Leon)* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55395934200_e87b1e87e1_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55395671013_92976918db_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55395934060_0abcb0ab0d_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55395538721_5eabaaab25_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55395670933_f9b2e64674_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55395934415_0a5f6d8e81_c.jpg) July 15, 2026 — Photo by Isabel Leon ### Standing with the Frontline: Mayor Michelle Wu Joins Brigham Nurses on the Picket Line URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/standing-with-the-frontline-mayor-michelle-wu-joins-brigham-nurses-on-the-picket-line/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T19:28:10.000Z On July 9th, Mayor Michelle Wu stood shoulder-to-shoulder with striking nurses outside Brigham and Women’s Hospital. When massive healthcare networks understaff wards and cut corners, it isn't just a budget dispute—it is a direct attack on our community's safety. We stand with the frontline workers refusing to let corporate greed compromise patient care and collective survival. *(July 9th, 2026 — Mayor’s Office Photo by Jeremiah Robinson)* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55382588762_0e12af95b3_c-3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55383654003_a57a921ca3_c-3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55383654033_ff636ff89c_c-3.jpg) Mayor’s Office Photo by Jeremiah Robinson ### IN THE WAKE TV x WJRT ABC Flint, MI URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/in-the-wake-tv-x-flint-mi/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T04:13:12.000Z We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to broadcast on WJRT ABC Flint during our Special 13-week Paid Programming slot on Sundays at 11:30 AM, a vital platform that allows us to bring our mission directly to the community. We are fiercely committed to amplifying authentic Black storytelling that centers community resistance, exposes systemic harm, and honors the lived experiences of our people. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468556126_9074186039300727_1596159564843161256_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468564109_9074186029300728_3759300615794216673_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468564886_9074186019300729_3741462958886451452_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468568693_9074186092634055_9183723767705905396_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468573730_9074185912634073_4438281241882502278_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468574507_9074185872634077_2573636691797280919_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468622304_9074186045967393_6866356858726508073_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468623557_9074186115967386_9038490385604016148_n.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/468635859_9074185849300746_3050596408308790696_n.jpg) 2026 Juneteenth Celebration Flint, MI Photo credit: [Alexandria Chrisele Photography.](https://www.linkedin.com/company/alexandriachriselephoto?ref=inthewake.tv) ### Grassroots Legacy: Roxbury Honors Tony Richards with Ramsey Park Court Dedication URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/grassroots-legacy-roxbury-honors-tony-richards-with-ramsey-park-court-dedication/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T13:54:51.000Z Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joins the Roxbury community at Ramsey Park for the official renaming of the basketball courts in honor of local icon Tony Richards. The dedication serves as a powerful testament to community preservation, anchoring the neighborhood’s history and reclaiming public space for youth excellence and neighborhood joy. *(7/11/26 | Mayor’s Office Photo by John Wilcox)* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/20260711_tonyrichards_jw_029_55387676954.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/20260711_tonyrichards_jw_027_55387676979.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/20260711_tonyrichards_jw_003_55387493711-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/20260711_tonyrichards_jw_050_55387621103.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/20260711_tonyrichards_jw_031_55386557747.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/20260711_tonyrichards_jw_030_55387490416.jpg) **7/11/26 | Mayor’s Office Photo by John Wilcox* ### IN THE WAKE TV Captures NYC Pride URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/in-the-wake-tv-captures-nyc-pride/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T12:39:12.000Z > **We’re looking past the corporate logos and getting straight to the heart of the movement.** IN THE WAKE TV correspondents Shayna and Lindsay hit the pavement to capture the raw energy, joy, and power of the people at NYC Pride. We bypassed the corporate floats and the PR stunts to talk directly to the crowd—the people who actually keep this movement alive. Through real, street-level interviews, we show how Black, Brown, Queer, and Trans communities are claiming their space, looking out for one another, and proving that our joy is a weapon against a system that wants us gone. This isn’t just a party—it’s proof that we are still here, still fighting, and still holding down our streets. ### Antoinette Montague performs at Clements Place in Newark NJ URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/antoinette-montague-performs-at-clements-place-in-newark-nj/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T11:39:32.000Z _No content available._ ### Sophia Livecchi’s Myrtle Meadows Honors Community Roots in Queens URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/sophia-livecchis-myrtle-meadows-honors-community-roots-in-queens/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T20:01:45.000Z Captured on the ground in Ridgewood, these asphalt murals soften the rigid urban landscape with flowing, organic shapes. By painting the avian travelers of the Atlantic Flyway and the leaves of the historic Black Cherry tree, Livecchi honors the living, breathing presences that make Queens what it is. At IN THE WAKE TV, we know that our neighborhoods are not merely "zones" to be policed or commercialized—they are places of deep ancestral roots and daily survival. *Myrtle Meadows* is a stunning example of public art acting as a protective shield, transforming busy traffic points into spaces of peace, contemplation, and radical love for the neighborhood. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55358951104_e8c3b1c6da_c-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55358951109_0feb715fd2_c-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55357819012_806541f720_k.jpg) ****Photo Credit:** Mara Zalite Photography | New York City Department of Transportation ### **Project Details & Community Resources** - **Project:** NYC DOT Art Partners (2026) - **Artist:** Sophia Livecchi ([sophialivecchi.com](https://www.sophialivecchi.com/?ref=inthewake.tv)) - **Locations:** 55-46 Myrtle Ave, 58-02 Myrtle Ave, 58-01 Myrtle Ave, and 60-40 Myrtle Ave, Queens - **Photo Credit:** Mara Zalite Photography - **Local Partners:** Myrtle Avenue BID ([ridgewood-ny.com](https://ridgewood-ny.com/?ref=inthewake.tv)) - **Movement Hub:** Learn more about public space reclaiming at[nyc.gov/dotart](https://www.nyc.gov/dotart?ref=inthewake.tv) ### (Untitled) URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/untitled/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T18:05:39.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Members Only: Legacy, Heritage, and Black Joy — Antoinette with the Incomparable Debbie Allen URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/bts/members-only-legacy-heritage-and-black-joy-antoinette-with-the-incomparable-debbie-allen/ Last updated: 2026-07-12T22:10:00.000Z _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Members Only: In the Wake of Power — Antoinette with AG Letitia James URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/bts/members-only-in-the-wake-of-power-antoinette-in-with-ag-letitia-james/ Last updated: 2026-07-12T21:57:38.000Z As the first Black woman elected to this pivotal role, Attorney General Letitia James embodies what it means to turn the scales of justice toward the people _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Welcome to the Inner Circle: Writing the Truth in the Wake URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/bts/welcome/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T22:04:22.000Z I am **Jamara Wakefield**, Executive Producer of **IN THE WAKE TV**. I want to personally welcome you to our exclusive, members-only blog. By becoming a paid subscriber, you aren't just supporting a media platform—you are partnering with us in a vital act of resistance. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/image-4.png) Jamara @ Jersey City Miller Branch Library prior to interviewing Terrence Floyd Here at IN THE WAKE TV, we don't just report the news; we actively dismantle the corporate, state-sanctioned narratives that have weaponized media against our communities for generations. Our platform stands firmly on three foundational pillars: - **Land Theft & The Crime of Displacement:** Treating gentrification, deed theft, and predatory zoning as active crime scenes where generational wealth is siphoned away. - **Resource Deprivation as Aggravated Neglect:** Redefining violence to include the deliberate, state-engineered withholding of clean water, healthcare, and fresh food. - **State Violence & The Architecture of Coercion:** Refusing to treat the carceral legal system as a primary source of truth, choosing instead to investigate its harms while amplifying the leaders fighting to dismantle it. Through this lens, we are moving away from "reporting crime" and toward documenting systemic harm and community resistance. This space is where we dig deeper, push the boundaries of radical storytelling, and share the raw, uncut history of our people. Thank you for holding the line with us. ### Sovereignty in the Streets: The 2026 Knicks Ticker-Tape Victory URL: https://www.inthewake.tv/sovereignty-in-the-streets-the-2026-knicks-ticker-tape-victory/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T05:06:37.000Z The energy was undeniable as the banner finally came back to where it belongs. Millions of people flooded the Canyon of Heroes, transforming the heart of New York City into an absolute sea of culture, pride, and radical celebration. We were on the ground capturing the historic ticker-tape parade and the subsequent rally at City Hall, documenting a moment where the collective power of our community took center stage. This wasn't just a sports victory; it was a masterclass in community excellence and uncontainable Black joy. From Jalen Brunson’s relentless leadership on the court to the generations of fans who kept the faith through a half-century of waiting, this moment belonged entirely to the people who give this city its heartbeat. ### **The Wake Analysis: Sacred Land and the Power of Territorial Sovereignty** In a city where public spaces are increasingly privatized, heavily policed, and commercialized, the simple act of two million people collectively taking over the streets is a profound assertion of ownership. We reject the narrative that our neighborhoods and streets belong to developers or state surveillance networks—the streets belong to the communities who live, work, sweat, and build legacy within them. When our people occupy space on this scale, the architecture of division melts away. For one historic day, New York wasn't defined by corporate real estate or structural isolation; it was defined by shared triumph, mutual love, and local sovereignty. By controlling the narrative and filling the streets with unapologetic joy, our community reminded the world that when we stand together, we are entirely unstoppable. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55343365578_8970564b73_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55343366043_f8feeaac94_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55343428919_d9e14c67f6_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55343627705_840dcbfaaf_c.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/1a/171a11af-e20a-40f2-8382-82bff915265e/content/images/2026/07/55343628130_48cf73e55d_c.jpg) The New York Knicks Hold Championship Celebration at City Hall *Our visual storytelling and community reporting are rooted locally, connected regionally, and relevant nationally. From New York City to Detroit and Newark, we document the moments of culture, creativity, and leadership that connect our communities across regions.*