Documentary In NJPAC ‘True Diversity Film Series’ Is On Netflix

NEWARK, NJ — The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark is launching its virtual “PSEG True Diversity Film Series.”

The first film in the series this season will be “13th,” directed by Ava DuVernay. Released in 2016, the documentary examines racial prejudice within the U.S. prison system through interviews with politicians, historians, academics and members of the Black community who have experienced life behind bars.

• See related article: Here's What It's Like To Survive Solitary Confinement, NJ Inmates Say

According to NJPAC, Netflix will make the film free, even to those who do not subscribe to the service, during the month of July, both on its website and on YouTube.

A virtual panel discussion that includes local community members will take place via Zoom at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 20. Learn more about how to register here.

Guest speakers will include:

• Rick Robinson, Chairman of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference Criminal Justice Committee, and the chair of the first Newark Civilian Complaint Review Board
• Stephanie James Harris, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Amistad Commission of the New Jersey Department of Education, which is tasked with the inclusion of African American historical content into New Jersey’s K-12 Social Studies curriculum
• Brandon Paradise, an Associate Professor at Rutgers Law School and a McDonald Distinguished Fellow at the Emory Center for the Study of Law and Religion, whose academic work focuses on race and law
• Bahiyyah Muhammad, a professor in the Howard University Department of Sociology and Criminology, who received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice and who studies the lives of children of incarcerated parents
• Kleo Torres, is a recent Cum Laude graduate of Alabama State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Both her parents were incarcerated

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