My Newark: Brick City is Beautiful.

The year was 1972. I was born and grew up in Newark until I was seven. When I was seven my parents bought a house in Plainfield. I love Plainfield, but this is about my first love, the first place to win my heart. Newark, New Jersey. I just wanted to share with you some of the reasons why I love Newark so much.

   The Newark that I grew up in was a shining jewel to me. The mecca and epicenter of all there was or ever could be. Yes there was crime and violence and poverty and all the other negative stigmas of urban America. But my vision was wonderfully jaded. Jaded by the love and support and warmth of a loving extended family and a community that truly embodied the cliche of "it takes a village..."

   So allow me to share with you some of the things that made my Newark the most wonderful place in the world.

1. Weequahic Park: An oasis in the middle of the city. Weequahic Park is where me and my family went for family barbecues. I remember playing catch, running, laughing and climbing trees. The magic of Weequahic wasn't the affect it had on the children, it was the affect it had on the adults. Living and raising a family in a big city like Newark can be stressful and overwhelming at times. But whenever I went to the park with any of the adults in my family I could actually see the weight lift off their shoulders. I could see them breathe deeper and smile fuller. When they sat down it was as if they were being recharged and renewed by each blade of grass.
2. Mulberry Street Market: I can still smell it. It's perfectly intoxicating smells wafting through the air. Plums, strawberries, oranges, sweet corn, collards, tomatoes and peaches. It seemed like every fruit and vegetable that God had created was there. I remember walking the aisles of the open air market with my grandmother and doing my best not to bump into any of the stands or bother her as she decided what she would buy from this cornucopia. I knew that if I was good she would give me the nod of approval as we walked past the cherries. I would pick two cherries from the table and eat them as we walked. Their sweetness was second to only one thing, the sweetness of my grandmother's smile when she looked down at me.
3. Community: Family and friends and neighbors were all woven into the same fabric of community. Your neighborhood that you grew up in didn't label you or limit you to where you could go or what you could be. It empowered you. I grew up knowing that no matter what was going on in my day that I didn't have to look to far to celebrate a victory or to find solace and comfort in the midst of a failure.
4. Shopping Downtown: Before there were malls with their maze of stores and boutiques, there were shopping districts in the heart of the city. Downtown. Children scrambled to tag along with the adults when they were going shopping. The possibilities were endless. A new shirt or pair of pants. A shiny new pair of shoes for school or some sneakers that you swore made you run faster and jump higher. You might get a hot pretzel from Woolworths or a hot dog from the street vendor's cart. Shopping downtown was a dizzying experience. So many people. Different skin colors, different languages, different hair styles and clothing. But the differences didn't clash and conflict, they blended and complimented one another.

My Newark. I was so fortunate to be born and raised there. I miss it. I will always love it.