Newark is a place where rich and unique culture exists within its five wards. Situated across the Hudson River from Manhattan, the city is diverse, with a wealth of young talent: musicians, artists, and activists.
The Rutgers University-Newark community, where I’m a transfer student, is an ideal setting to learn about social justice. My campus takes pride in being not just in Newark but of Newark. The institution is an important place to establish a sense of connection and growth between diverse communities — also called racial healing.
Together, we are on a journey to heal and reflect on the harm done to communities in America.
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Founded by the Kellogg Foundation in 2016, Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) groups have been set up in communities and on college campuses nationwide to address the historical and ongoing effects of racism. As a Racial Healing Fellow, I’m uncovering what racial healing means for RU-N’s students, staff, and myself.
Rutgers Newark’s TRHT group uses the arts as well as the humanities to address racial conflict and trauma through a social justice lens. This is meant to emphasize that racism is not just the problem of one race — it affects everyone. But art can be a part of the experience. The Healing Sounds of Newark, for example, features spoken word, powerful singing, and the soulful sounds of a piano. The subjects are serious, but art is a part of the process.
While it is diverse, Newark is not perfect: many families deal with poverty, unemployment, affordable housing, and gentrification. It’s a place where activists are born, protests are marched, and riots erupt: in 1967, the city saw four days of unrest after white city police officers arrested and beat a Black cab driver.
I want to be an agent of change in my community.
RU-N is an open city campus with two other commuter campuses just minutes apart.
As a transfer student in the journalism program and a soon-to-be debt-free graduate, I can attest to the sense of comfort, connection, and care the university provides. Black students, for example, make up 18.9% of the university’s population. We can see ourselves reflected in the faculty, from professors to deans to dining hall workers.
In 2025, racial healing is more important than ever. President Donald Trump’s second term is dominating discussions in dining halls and classrooms. My fellow college students face the challenge of uncovering the truths of the past while navigating how their identity shapes America’s perception of them.
As a Black woman studying journalism with a minor in social justice, I believe it’s essential to be in a field that seeks to uncover the truth in a time of so much uncertainty. But I also want to acquire the tools to address this need. It’s no longer enough to simply report on what happens around me; I want to be an agent of change in my community.
On campus, I receive tremendous support from faculty, fellow journalists, and friends. They encourage me to be that change every day. I’m ready to dive in with the Word In Black audience.
Aaliyah Amos is one of Word In Black’s four Racial Healing Youth Ambassadors. She reports on and amplifies African American student experiences with her campus Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation groups. Launched by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the TRHT effort promotes inclusive and community-based healing activities and policy designs that seek to change community narratives and broaden the understanding of diverse experiences among people.
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