- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

Prudential Financial.

The Fidelco Group.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Rutgers University Newark.

Choose New Jersey.

And by ADP.

Promotional support provided by New Jersey Monthly, the magazine of the Garden State.

Available at newsstands.

And by Meadowlands Chamber.

Building connections, driving business growth.

- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The jobs of tomorrow are not the jobs of yesterday.

- Look at this.

You get this?

- Life without dance is boring.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- Do you enjoy talking politics?

- No.

- People call me 'cause they feel nobody's paying attention.

- Our culture, I don't think has ever been tested in the way it's being tested right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - [Director] This is interview one, take one.

(clapperboard clapping) (chimes ringing) - [Tina] My mother, she used to sit in the window of the kitchen when she was making dinner on Sundays.

I used to just watch her.

I thought she was so pretty.

One day, she wasn't in that window.

She was never in it again.

I wanted her to come for me.

And I waited.

She never did.

(piano playing) And it's all right.

You know why?

♪ Big wheels keep on turnin'.

♪ - [Tina] I'm a girl from a cotton field.

♪ Proud Mary, keep on burnin'.

♪ - [Tina] That pulled myself above, ♪ And we're rollin' ♪ - [Tina] The destruction and the mistakes, ♪ Rollin' ♪ ♪ Rollin', ♪ - [Tina] And I'm here for you.

♪ Rollin' ♪ ♪ Rollin' on the river.

♪ - So that is an excerpt, the sizzle, if you will, the sizzle reel from an extraordinary documentary called "Tina" an HBO documentary.

And we are honored to be joined by Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, the co-directors of "Tina".

Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.

Extraordinary work, I told you before we went on the air, my wife, Jennifer and I, along with millions of others, sat there mesmerized.

TJ, describe the experience of putting this documentary together with the extraordinary Tina Turner.

- Well, I mean, it was about a two and a half year project.

You know if, to be quite honest with you, we didn't think much about the importance of the legacy of Tina while making it.

I think if we would've thought about it, we would've been paralyzed with fear.

But really it was the wonderful opportunity to really kind of get to know Tina as as a person and not an icon.

And, you know, with a lot of our work, our priorities tend to be, to try to humanize the individual at the center of the story.

And for us, the you know, it was a real honor to be able to be the conduit for her story.

And, you know, it was a real discovery for us to realize that, you know, in the process of her becoming this kind of symbol of resilience and strength, she really still at this chapter in her life, still struggles with her the trauma of her past.

And that's, that discovery was the thing that really informed the direction of the film.

- To your point, she's 80 now.

And listening her talk about her mom at the end of that, and then her dad, such a big part of this growing up in the church, and the abuse and so many other things, the Ike Turner part of this.

For you Dan, what was your biggest take away from this experience, particularly dealing with Tina Turner directly?

- Well I think, you know, as TJ kind of alluded to one of the big things was in first meeting Tina, and getting an understanding that, you know, that the public had seen Tina in many ways, as this symbol of strength and resilience, but the person we met was still very much struggling in processing a lot of the pain and trauma of her past.

And, you know, at the time that was a revelation to us.

And we've said that, you know, it probably shouldn't have been because all survivors right, through the rest of their life are making a choice every day to survive.

And Tina Turner is no different.

And so we, you know, we wanted to try to capture that, while telling her story, we wanted to tell it from her point of view so that we do arrive to a point where you realize that, you know, the Tina Turner that is sitting and living in this fabulous life in Zurich, Switzerland is still processing a lot of the pain and trauma of her past.

- Yeah, and the video content, the audio interviews, the Ike interviews, where, unless I got this wrong, he did not sound contrite.

He did not sound remorseful.

I didn't pick up any of that, unless I misunderstood it.

All of it is there.

TJ, talk about that, how the heck did you get access to that stuff?

- Yeah, well I mean, we have to credit our archivist and co-producer Ben Piner, he's got a magic touch with archive.

But to your point, you know, you can't tell the story, as even Tina points out in the film, you can't tell the story, without telling the story of the relationship with Ike.

So it was really important for us to also try our best to try to get within the psyche of Ike Turner, and try to understand, not necessarily his motives, but also his struggles, and also maybe some of his own personal conflicts.

But you know, as you point out, it's no wonder why kind of Tina's wrestling with trying to understand what she experienced, because I don't think, as Rhonda Graam says, Tina's you know friend and confidant in the film, Ike doesn't necessarily even know and can attribute and understand some of the actions that he took.

I think a lot of people will say that he may have struggled with mental illness.

And unfortunately when he passed, he you know, he was still struggling with drug addiction.

- Dan, let me ask you.

For Tina Turner particularly in the eighties, but there were so many different times where she had degrees of success, and then she did not, right?

There was so many dry periods, if you will.

But what struck me, is her relationship is it with Clive Davis, more than anyone else, that really changed that?

Do I have that right?

- With Roger Davies, you mean?

- Roger Davies, I got that wrong.

- Yeah.

- I'm sorry.

I got, so she connected with Davies in a way that, how did that change the trajectory of her career and her life?

- Well that was, so the - Sorry for screwing that up, by the way.

- No, totally I mean, unless Roger is watching, I think we're okay.

But, you know the, that period of her life was particularly interesting to us, because in the kind of popular understanding I think, at least for TJ and I, you know, she was with Ike.

She left Ike.

And then she had solo success, and to find - And by the way, not easy to leave Ike.

Let's just say that.

- No.

- Correct.

- To say the least.

- And you can see that in the film.

- Yeah.

- Go ahead.

I'm sorry.

- But I think that seven year period where, you know, we kind of referred to it as, Tina in the wilderness, was really interesting to us, because she had to find a means to survive, and the only way she really, could do that was as a performer.

That's what she had done.

And so yeah, I think with Roger you know, Tina was performing in the cabaret circuit and she was able to meet Roger, who was at the time managing Olivia Newton John, and you know, she begged him to come and see her perform.

And I think, you know for Roger, it was just like anyone who sees Tina Turner perform, it's undeniable.

It doesn't matter what she's doing.

Even if you know at the time she's performing quote unquote, kind of cheesy cabaret tunes, you can't deny her as a performer.

And I think Roger's role, was really only to help the industry see that the amount of talent and possibility within Tina.

And Tina herself, owns the success that she has.

- TJ, let me ask you this.

I'm always fascinated.

I've always been a fan, not just of Tina Turner, but also of so many other great artists, who are referred to as divas, if you will, whatever the heck that's supposed to mean starting with Aretha Franklin.

Was there mutual respect, and or, admiration toward Tina Turner and how special she was?

She didn't fit neatly into the R and B community.

She had a rock and roll background.

They had the Mick Jagger connection.

Was she admired by other, dare I say, divas in the R and B community?

- Well, I don't know if I can speak on behalf of the divas of the world, but look, I think the thing that people undeniably admire about Tina and having spent time, you know, Dan I spending time telling her story, is probably thing that stands out the most, is she carved her own identity within the context of the music industry.

And I think that's just, she's her own.

She has her own voice.

She has her own identity.

And that is 100% for her fighting for her own identity.

And that's the thing I think that - She wouldn't be pigeonholed.

Sorry for, she would not be pigeonholed.

- Exactly, exactly.

And I think that's the thing that has a lot of resonance, now in retrospect, with a lot of her colleagues and peers and other artists, that say there's only one Tina Turner.

- Hey Dan for people, by the way, there's a book.

There's so many things out about Tina Turner.

But this is different.

This is special.

Dan, for people who want to check out this great documentary that you and your colleagues, two of you and your colleagues put together, how can they find it?

- Well, it's streaming on HBO max and on HBO.

And I mean around the world, it's in theaters via Universal.

- Yeah, and for, like I said, for millions of others who during this pandemic have looked for ways, not simply to be distracted, but to be not and also just not entertained, but to be moved, incredibly moving and powerful and congratulations to both of you and to your colleagues on this film.

"Tina" on HBO, an incredible documentary.

Gentlemen, you honor us by your presence.

Thanks so much.

- Thank you.

- Appreciate it.

- We appreciate it.

- Thank you.

- You got it, I'm Steve Adubato, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- We're now joined by Darrell Terry, who's President and CEO, and Dr. Eric Wasserman, Chairman and Medical Director of Emergency Department at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children's Hospital of New Jersey.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.

- Thank you, Steve, thanks for having us.

- Yes, thank you.

- Sorry for interrupting, kick this off, Darrell.

There's a $5 million grant that has come to your hospital.

And it comes through the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

Specifically for what and why does it matter so much in terms of serving the healthcare needs of the citizens of Newark, particularly the South Ward of Newark, one of the five wards in the city?

- So we're super excited about this project.

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and the Children's Hospital of New Jersey is embarking on $150 million plan to really change the face of Lyons Avenue in the South Ward of Newark.

It is the singular largest investment in the South Ward in a significant period of time.

Certainly the largest investment in Newark Beth Israel in well over 50 years.

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, which has partnered with us on a number of initiatives, have generously committed $5 million towards this project, specifically naming the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey emergency services pavilion.

The emergencies department is certainly our front door of our medical center and how many people interact with the hospital.

And so having that significant presence on Lyons Avenue and a new expanded emergency department is super exciting and worthwhile for our community.

- Doctor, talk about that, because some of us who were born and raised in Newark know Lyons Avenue well, but it is not just for Newarkers, it is an example of what could be in urban centers across this country.

And it's also not healthcare, we'll talk about the economic development aspects in a second, Darrell.

But doctor, talk about the impact on serving patients, particularly in the underserved community in Newark.

- Yeah.

So this is really wonderful for our community and for patients that we get from all over the country that come to Newark Beth, really.

But specifically, you know, our catchment areas right around the hospital.

And you know, day in, day out, we take care of, you know, our community primarily, and this expansion and kind of facelift that we're getting is really critical to delivering, you know, the high quality care that Newark Beth is known for.

- Darrell, you and I have talked many, many times.

Your connection to the Beth is not just being a leader there, but it's very personal.

Connect that to this conversation about the specific community we're talking about and the needs of this community.

I'll complicate the question for you, my friend.

Particularly at a time when vaccine resistance, COVID vaccine resistance in the African American community is much higher than it needs to be, and even though there are legitimate reasons for some of that resistance.

Your connection to this community and why it matters so much, particularly now.

- So as you and I have talked about many times, Steve, I was born at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.

I met my wife here.

My two youngest kids were born here, my granddaughter was born here.

My brother died in this hospital, my grandparents.

So it is a very personal connection for me.

So the work that I do here, that we do as a team, is personal, when we talk about, you know, treating people like it's their family, oftentimes for me, it actually is my family.

And so Lyons Avenue, so Beth has been an enigma in our community in previous years.

It has a fortress-like appearance and it's not very welcoming from the outside, although we have wonderful, great people on the inside.

And so now the outside will consist of natural lighting and glass and transparency.

And the entrance will be oriented to Lyons Avenue, so it is a connection to the community to say that we are part of and not some, you know, some enigma or some strange, you know, intruder.

We're actually a significant anchor institution in the South Ward.

And it also speaks to our commitment to being here.

When you invest $150 million in something, you will be here, you will be here serving the needs of our community, and I couldn't be more excited about the interaction with the community.

- By the way, the Beth is part of a larger healthcare system, RWJBarnabas Health, a significant supporter of public broadcasting.

Doctor, let me ask you this.

One of the challenges when it comes to serving people and the community that we're talking about, and by the way, you keep talking about urban communities across this nation, across the state, first of all, in Trenton and Atlantic City and Elizabeth, et cetera, or in Philadelphia and other places outside.

Access matters.

How will this change access, doctor?

- Right.

So, you know, the aesthetics and the cosmetics of the job are only one piece of this.

You know, operationally, we're gonna be a much more efficient emergency department.

You know, the entrance, as Mr. Terry mentioned, is right on Lyons Avenue.

of the department will allow for team-based care which really, upon arrival, which will result in decreased wait times for patients and shorter length of stays and increased safety.

There's also improved communication between providers and physicians and nurses because of the close proximity that everyone will be in based on the layout and the new structure of the department.

Just more, it flows more efficiently, at least on the plans.

- Darrell, let me follow up, I wanna follow up, Darrell.

And again, you and I have talked about this before, the vaccine resistance in the African American community, warranted for many reasons historically.

The history, it speaks for itself.

However, what specifically do you believe needs to be done, is being done and needs to be done moving forward to increase the number of folks in the African American community, in black and brown communities who say, okay, I trust enough to do this, because we're never gonna get where we need to get to if we don't succeed on that level, Darrell.

- So it's really important to have a connection and trust to your healthcare facility.

And then when situations like this occur, you already have that natural trust, bond, relationship.

And so there is hesitancy for sure, but it's not just hesitancy, there have been access issues that sometimes we confound with hesitancy and, you know, the rollout of sort of the vaccine process and, you know, click this link and making appointments and trying to get through- - It's complicated and confusing and- - Yes.

- You can't just put it all on resistance, that's part of it, but if it's hard to pull off, people back off.

- That's right, that's right.

And so there, obviously, there's some hesitancy, and I believe that that is directly related to misinformation that's on social media.

Social media and some of the things that are coming out of there are literally killing people.

And so what I've committed to do here at Newark Beth Israel and what we've committed to do at RWJBarnabas Health is really give good, credible information by respected physicians to our community.

We have had a series of webinars.

I have met with dozens of groups of people to talk to them, with physicians with me just to make sure, 'cause I am not a physician, just to make sure that they had real credible information and that we would have the ability to answer any concerns that they've had.

I've literally convinced hundreds of people that this is the right thing to do.

- Still a lot of work to be done.

Darrell Terry, Dr. Eric Wasserman, I wanna thank you so much for joining us.

We'll continue this discussion, thank you, gentlemen.

- Thank you, Steve.

- Thank you.

- I'm Steve Adubato, stay with us, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- We're now joined by Sharnita Johnson, Program Director of Arts, at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Also, Co-Chair of the New Jersey Arts and Recovery Fund.

Sharnita, great to have you with us.

- Thank you, it's my pleasure.

- Tell us exactly what the New Jersey Arts and Recovery fund is, and why it matters.

- So the New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund was established early in the pandemic last year when myself and co-chair of the New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund, and Tammy Herman, who is with the New Jersey State Arts Council, who co-chair the Culture Funders Affinity Group, really started to understand the devastation that the arts and culture community was experiencing as a result of the pandemic.

And early in the pandemic we were estimating in the first 90 days that up to $25 million in losses were being experienced by arts and culture organizations.

And of course, that number exceeds well over a $100 million now.

So we wanted to do something.

And so we convened the arts and culture foundations and philanthropy leaders in the state, and talked about these dismal numbers, and put out a call to establish this fund.

And my co-chair, Jeremy Grunin, of the Grunin Foundation immediately raised his hand, and said, "I'm in let's do this."

And from that moment, we've been full steam ahead.

We've raised about $4.5 million to date, and distributed a lot of those dollars.

We're in the process of distributing the second phase of grants already.

And so it's been an incredible resource.

It's been incredibly important to the arts and culture, and history sector.

And we're continuing to fundraise, because the need is still great.

- You know, there's so many, we've been doing a lot of segments around the arts and COVID.

But I don't know if people really truly appreciate, or understand what the arts mean until you don't have the arts accessible to us.

What would you say, particularly in underserved communities, the importance of arts truly is moving forward, and why it's more important than ever right now?

- It's incredibly important.

First of all, because it keeps us connected.

So I've been saying since the beginning of the pandemic, if you've binge watched anything on Netflix, which I think we all have, if you've listened to music, if you've done anything remotely creative, or your kids, arts education has been really, really very important.

Then you know how important the arts are.

However, we're also looking at a sector that has a very vulnerable workforce.

So a lot of teaching artists are supplementing their income as working in the service industry, for example.

So some of those folks lost almost 100% of their income, as a result of this work.

There are about, pre-pandemic, 22,000 culture workers in the state.

That's a lot of people to have lost their income.

So I think it's bringing us together.

It's healing, it's keeping our kids engaged, it's keeping them on track with their education, and so many other things.

And it's an economic engine.

Pre-pandemic, the arts and culture sector, and history sector generated over half a billion dollars in revenues for the state.

- Other quick point, as it relates to racial, social injustice, equity issues.

We've been involved in a series called Confronting Racism for well over a year now.

Connect the arts to racial and social injustice.

- I'm so glad that you brought that up, Steve, because when we really were thinking about how this fund was going to support those communities that are most vulnerable, those communities that are disinvested, we knew that we had to really think about how the arts and culture, and history sector were serving those communities.

So we really established the fund, number one, with a threshold of organizations that have a operating budget of less than $3 million.

Those organizations tend to be smaller.

And many of them are not even at a operating budget of that much.

They're smaller, they're less networked, they have boards that may or may not be able to necessarily fill those fundraising gaps for them.

And we also wanted to make sure that those communities were continuing to be served in some level.

So the fund was really structured to provide extra weight to those communities and to those organizations that were led by people of color, or primarily serving people of color.

And those are the organizations that tend to be more than just arts organizations and cultural organizations in their communities.

They're also community connectors.

They're also the place where people go when they need, when they're in trouble, when they need support, when they need a referral.

So we knew that we were not only supporting artists, and arts organizations, but that we were supporting communities that need it.

- Before I let you go, the vaccine matters here, does it not?

- Absolutely.

- 30 seconds, a message to those who are resisting, particularly in urban communities.

From your perspective, what's your message to them?

- Well, Steve, that question is very personal to me, because I lost my oldest sister in January to COVID.

- I'm so sorry.

- Thank you so much.

And so I'm a huge booster of the vaccine.

I'm vaxxed, I wear my mask still.

I want to encourage people to get the vaccine, it's safe.

It'll help us come back together sooner, and it'll keep us all safe.

- Sharnita, thank you.

- It's my pleasure.

- Again, to you and your family.

- Thank you, thank you.

- We're sorry for your loss.

- Thank you.

- You just sent a very powerful message to a lot of people who need to hear it.

We wish you and all your colleagues all the best, thank you.

- Thanks so much.

- I'm Steve Adubato.

Thanks for joining us and we'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

Prudential Financial.

The Fidelco Group.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Rutgers University Newark.

Choose New Jersey.

And by ADP.

Promotional support provided by New Jersey Monthly, And by Meadowlands Chamber.

- I'm Tim Sullivan, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Since joining the NJEDA, I've been struck by the incredible assets and resources that New Jersey has to offer.

The NJEDA is working every day to grow New Jersey's economy in a way that maximizes the values of those assets to benefit every single New Jersey resident.

This includes more support for small businesses and a focus on reclaiming New Jersey's position as a leader in the innovation economy.

Visit njeda.com to learn more about how NJEDA is building a stronger and fairer New Jersey economy.