DEMOr funding for NJ Spotlight News is provided in part by NJM DEMOrance Group, serving the insurance needs of DEMOdents and businesses for more than 100 years.

DEMOzon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an DEMOpendent licensee of the Blue Cross and DEMO Shield Association, and by the PSEG Foundation.

DEMO] DEMO evening, and welcome to a special edition of NJ DEMOlight News.

I'm DEMOna Vannozzi.

For the DEMO year, we've had the incredible opportunity to DEMOoduce you to a number of people who are DEMOng back to their communities in extraordinary DEMO through our digital documentary film series, 21.

The DEMOes examines the simple question of does DEMOe you live in the state affect how you live?

21 DEMOiles one person in each of our 21 counties and looks at the DEMOal determinants that affect that person's life.

DEMO, tonight, we introduce you to several more New Jerseyans DEMO let's just say, have an independent spirit and are DEMOg above and beyond.

DEMOt, meet Fallon Davis, who redefines what it means to be a DEMOunity leader in Essex County.

DEMO would rather be looked at as a radical educator, DEMOloping tools, resources, and space for the DEMO generation of innovators DEMOugh expressive arts and science programs for all ages.

DEMO's Fallon.

- In a DEMOe like Essex, we are a family.

And DEMOide of the things that couldn't be better, DEMO a beautiful place to be.

So I DEMOd consider myself a community leader.

You DEMO?

DEMO.

If something's not going DEMOt for the community, I'm going to be the one DEMO speaks out on it.

DEMOuse if you don't take control of your city, DEMO who else will?

♪ So I DEMO Essex County to be respected as a cultural hub.

I DEMO Newark to be the Black mecca of the world.

DEMO's going on?

How you DEMOg?

DEMOing, this is so dope.

DEMO is where a lot of Black and Brown culture is.

DEMOe so glad to have you.

DEMO vibe is excellent.

For so DEMO, communities like Newark have been left out.

You DEMOt realize that in this community, DEMOe are a lot of resources that are not available.

DEMO is what I wake up every day fighting to advocate for-- DEMO water, free food, free programming, and DEMOly providing space where Black and Brown owners can DEMO ownership here.

You DEMO, it's a big task we're up against.

DEMOe you live does affect how you live, DEMOcially when you're in an area with lack of DEMOss to fresh food.

DEMOrk is a very diverse place.

In DEMOy ward, there's five of them.

It has a DEMOerent personality, a different set of resources.

All DEMO wards are food deserts, and every public DEMOol is in poverty.

You DEMO to change your community that you live in so DEMO people want to wake up in the morning, so DEMO people want to be alive, so that people want to learn.

And so I DEMOloped STEAM Urban March 2020 in the DEMOht of the pandemic.

So DEMOM Urban is an expressive arts and DEMO discipline education program for DEMOk and Brown students of all ages.

And all DEMO because you don't ever stop learning.

- DEMO STEAM Urban, I wanted to be different.

A lot of my DEMOramming in the beginning of my career was in the DEMOsroom, and it really wasn't DEMOecting to the community.

If you DEMOk about a student, you have to reach DEMOr caregivers.

So if we can get out in the DEMOhborhood, DEMOe you don't have so many restrictions, and DEMOte the community out, that has been the success.

I'm DEMO to see a city who has been systemically left out DEMOinue to come back to life.

DEMOering) DEMOing my identity through community was a DEMO hard thing.

I DEMOly didn't see myself in the world.

Ha!

DEMOllent!

DEMO this is so me.

DEMOg in the fashion industry and being in New York City DEMOnitely opened up my eyes.

I DEMO great.

The DEMOQ community wasn't really represented, DEMOcially Black and Brown people in the fashion world.

DEMOg non-binary, I'm a spiritual being.

I'm a DEMOeful being.

And DEMO's what I like to be known as, not all DEMOe different labels.

Me DEMOg more masculine presenting DEMOted to be problematic.

It was DEMO apparent to me that I was going to have to DEMOte my own spaces.

You DEMO, you were going to have to create your own tribe.

DEMO guys.

And DEMO's been a big part of my journey.

DEMO created a tribe in this world.

And DEMO's what I wanted to give for other people.

I DEMOed to provide opportunities for them DEMO other people weren't giving them.

And DEMO's what I'm creating with Steam Urban, spaces that I DEMO't have, safe zones where you can be any identity you DEMO, but people will respect it and people will value you.

I DEMOk what I love about us all is that we're not just speaking DEMOt it, we're doing it.

DEMO's the real deal.

DEMO, that is the deal.

DEMOugh our programs, I designed a model that empowers people.

In our DEMOt year, we did 70 programs, so we were able to DEMOh people in all ways.

How you DEMOg?

DEMOome, welcome to STEAM Urban.

We are DEMO doing nature print collages today.

The DEMOessive arts has healed me.

To be DEMO to be connected to some form of creativity, DEMOstry, has kept me living.

So I use the DEMO as a healing mechanism and as a way to DEMO people that their voice and DEMOr lives matter.

DEMOybody's an artist, I'm telling you.

DEMOyone.

DEMOening can teach you everything you need to know DEMOt yourself and the world.

You can see DEMOthing growing that wasn't there before.

You see DEMOgs come alive.

DEMO's what allows you to feel good about learning.

So I DEMO with parks, gardens, farms.

I DEMOded that I was going to create outdoor DEMOning classrooms, creating a new educational DEMOprint.

This is one of our partners, the DEMO, so we put all this together today.

DEMO-sustaining communities is what it's going to DEMO to revive urban areas.

DEMOde of here is a fresh salad kit and some seeds to plant.

And DEMOe are from local farms in the area.

If you DEMOt to be self-sustaining, DEMO can't take from you what you can keep for yourself.

I DEMO STEAM Urban to become a staple and to DEMOly be in the fabric of Essex and the DEMOic of Newark.

So DEMO created a community collective.

I DEMO over 70 to 80 partners.

And DEMO I'm designing a program, I can DEMOh out to them.

And DEMOyone's excited to be a part of what DEMOe Mervin does.

I DEMOed to ask if you wanted to be a part of the Creative DEMOgemakers Club.

DEMOe all in the same community.

I DEMO at all of you as these visionaries.

And so I DEMO to work together.

DEMO school dropout, mom at 16, going through life and DEMOg an entrepreneur.

How do I DEMO other Black girls how to use social media to DEMOntially build a brand?

So DEMOi's giving Team Urban the platform and DEMOging us into the parks, which is phenomenal.

DEMOuse it's not about competition, DEMO about collaboration.

DEMO's really what this is.

And so DEMO do you guys think?

DEMOGHTER] I'm in.

DEMOGHTER] So DEMO brought back this community essence that, you DEMO, I think for a while was missing from North.

DEMO created a beautiful community and the tribe is what I DEMOve on on a daily basis.

I DEMOdn't do it without them.

DEMO is why I have these friends.

My DEMOm for future generations is for them to DEMO their community and for them to really DEMO like they want to be a part of that community and DEMO going to take the help of everyone.

It is my DEMO's dream to be in a community like this and I DEMOdn't want to be anywhere else.

DEMOt music) - Now DEMO to Hudson County, where Shayla Cabrera started DEMO a small business called Tia Planta.

DEMO rooted in community inclusion and education.

DEMOy, her business is blossoming beyond houseplants.

She is in DEMO, one of the only women in the state DEMO a license to grow cannabis.

For DEMOla, representation on the recreational marijuana space is DEMOonal.

Her DEMOer remains incarcerated for selling cannabis.

DEMO Shayla.

- I DEMOk back when I was a little girl and DEMOe was no one that looked like me DEMO did anything like this.

DEMO say the most successful business is you DEMO a solution to something.

DEMO very important for me to represent as a DEMOk woman in this space.

DEMO is who I am.

♪ I DEMO been in Hudson County now for 13 years.

I'm a DEMOl business owner, a serial entrepreneur.

DEMOently, my businesses are horticulturally based and DEMOunity based.

I DEMOt come from much.

My DEMOer moved out to New Jersey to DEMO of give me the opportunity to get a DEMOer education and just improve my life.

DEMOing up in the suburbs, I was part of a very DEMOl minority group.

So DEMO was a little bit difficult DEMOuse I didn't really find anyone DEMO I could identify with that looked like me.

I DEMO punk rock and just like the New Jersey scene is DEMOly what I come from.

As a DEMOal entrepreneur, there was a plant shop in my DEMOhborhood that I kind of like interned at.

I DEMO would volunteer and hang around during the DEMOemic when it first started.

And the guy who ran the DEMOt shop said, DEMO know more about plants than me.

You DEMOld sell plants."

So I sat and I DEMOght, "I definitely need to DEMOt this business.

DEMO are we going to name it?"

We DEMOd up with Tia Planta.

DEMOybody loved it.

So I DEMOded my business, Juneteenth 2020, DEMOng the pandemic, and it took off beyond my DEMOest dreams.

DEMOnley Square is a less prominent part of the city.

I saw DEMO space.

It was a DEMOer police kiosk, and I wanted to bring DEMOn to McGinley Square and bring plant life.

We DEMO granted the space by the city council, and I DEMOed the Department of Innovation DEMO in Jersey City, and gave me the opportunity to DEMO directly from Jersey City and move into the police kiosk.

One of my DEMOomers let me know that they were discussing DEMOving me from the space.

DEMOe my heart because I just love this community so much.

I DEMOdn't understand why they would do that to me, and I had to DEMOe down my shop.

I DEMO bullied.

DEMO.

It's heartbreaking even now, DEMOuse I just love this place so much, and DEMO still empty.

So I DEMO forward and, you know, on to bigger and better things.

But DEMO train don't stop for nobody.

DEMOr I made it public that I was having difficulty DEMO the city and my shop, the amount of people that DEMOorted my business was absolutely incredible.

It DEMO my mind that thousands of people all DEMOnd the state, not just Jersey City, DEMOd up for me.

DEMO is one of our last plant pop-ups, so yeah, but I DEMO, onward and upward.

It DEMO gave me so much fuel in this jetpack to continue DEMOever path it may be.

Now I'm DEMO taking all that knowledge I learned and DEMOg off on my own.

I'm a new DEMOner and it's like really great.

I'm DEMO so happy.

I DEMO to do this.

I DEMOd that legal cannabis was coming here to New Jersey.

So I DEMOded to pursue cannabis on my own.

In the DEMO it was a blessing in disguise DEMOuse I'm now one of the only women in the state DEMO have a license to grow cannabis.

DEMOeat music) DEMOk you so much.

DEMOre all set.

DEMO give you a card also.

- DEMOt, thank you so much.

- DEMOe you go.

DEMOk you.

DEMO a good one.

We DEMO working on this license application day and night to DEMO sure it was perfect.

DEMO we got back the answer and learned that we got DEMO license, I mean, it was DEMO the Super Bowl because I have put every DEMOe of energy into this, money into this, time into this, DEMO to be validated and to get that license DEMO felt so good.

DEMOic] I DEMO't know who my father was until I was about 20.

It was not DEMOly discussed in my home at all DEMOuse he was regarded as a criminal for DEMOing cannabis.

My DEMOer's been incarcerated over 20 years.

DEMOic] DEMO's part of why I'm in this.

Now DEMO I am, and I have a license to distribute cannabis, and my DEMOer is still incarcerated to this day.

DEMO difficult even now to know that there are so DEMO Black people incarcerated.

It DEMOs me angry, honestly.

DEMO that, I use the anger as fuel to get me DEMO this cannabis space and DEMO I have been negatively affected by this criminalization of a DEMOt.

Hey DEMOe.

I'm DEMOg to list each herb on the label and I'm also going to put the DEMOctions as to how you should use it.

DEMO.

I've kind of just been focusing on my DEMOabis business so I finally have a little bit more DEMO to just get to know my community again and come out and DEMO do what I do, talk too much.

I DEMO to be able to be a role model for other DEMOle that look like me to show them that you can DEMOvate in this industry.

The DEMOle that have been the most affected by this DEMO the opportunities first.

I DEMOeve that and I will continue to fight for DEMO and continue to share any knowledge I have with them.

How you DEMOg?

We DEMOently have a conditional micro cultivation license.

DEMO basically the first part of the screening process.

I DEMO passed.

In DEMOr to graduate up to an annual license, I DEMO to find a location that is properly zoned for DEMOabis cultivation.

DEMOe are people that own the property there DEMO once they find out it's cannabis businesses are DEMOng in, they charge an insane amount of rent, and no DEMOness can survive off of that.

DEMOes here in Jersey City are extremely high.

I DEMO to grow my cannabis here.

DEMO is my city.

I DEMO my product to say "Grown in Jersey City."

Let me go DEMOnd this step over a little bit.

DEMOe's still a lot of stigma behind plant medicine, DEMOh is very unfortunate.

DEMOation is going to be the factor DEMO takes this plant out of the shadows and into the light.

DEMOa, can you please put down the, uh... DEMO table?

DEMOhmm.

Yeah.

I DEMO from houseplants, and as soon as I let my community DEMO I was going into cannabis, nobody judged me.

I was DEMO supported by them.

A lot of DEMOs, you know, I grew up in the suburbs, and DEMOing that validation was very difficult, DEMOg the only minority.

And now DEMO I am, an adult, completely DEMOorted my community in any endeavor I go into, and it DEMO-- it really feels so great.

I say DEMO Tia Plante is rooted in diversity, DEMOunity, and education.

I DEMO so safe here.

I DEMO so cared for here.

I DEMOt want to have to leave.

DEMOey City, it's the most diverse city in the country, DEMOrally.

Every kind of person, just so DEMOectful, so caring, such a great community, so DEMOpting.

And I DEMOt imagine leaving.

The DEMOrtunity is here if you're a go-getter, if DEMOre a self-starter, if you work hard.

You can DEMO anything happen here in Hudson County.

DEMOe you live heavily affects how you live.

I DEMOk that your lifestyle is heavily DEMOndent on your zip code, because that's the DEMO of living.

How DEMO peace you can have, how hard you have to work to DEMOin that, especially if it's an underrepresented group, DEMOinalized people that don't have access to opportunity.

DEMO the developments coming here into Jersey City, a lot of the DEMOle that have lived here for a long time cannot DEMOrd that because of the skyrocketing cost.

I DEMOinue to press on through the challenges because, DEMO, I'm mad about it.

I'm not DEMOg anywhere.

So I DEMO continue to advocate for people that look like me.

DEMO what makes me happy.

DEMO what brings me joy, being able to help other people.

And DEMO continue to do that till the day I die.

DEMOk you so much, everybody.

DEMOome.

Now DEMO to Camden County, where we meet Karanveer Pannu, a DEMOg community leader and the first Sikh member of the DEMOhees Township Zoning Board.

DEMO hopes to one day have a political DEMOer, he leads by example through his faith and work as a DEMOying prevention specialist with a special focus on DEMOorting diversity and tolerance.

DEMO is Karanveer.

DEMOt music) - Our DEMOerences are kind of like, DEMO make us similar in a sense.

The DEMO faith, for example, is rooted in public service, DEMOing others, defending yourself, and DEMOe are all values that we grew up in America with.

DEMO our duty to stand up for others and ourselves.

DEMOg a turban-wearing sick kid, you're often concerned of how DEMOrs perceive you.

In DEMOh, seventh grade, I was going to school one day, I DEMOmber passing a bus and there was an eighth grader on the bus and she DEMO yelled out a racial slur for no DEMOon.

DEMOgs like that kind of stuck with me.

DEMOe small incidents like that gave me a reminder that DEMO my duty to do my part to make it better for other kids.

So DEMO's why the book came about and doing the DEMO I'm doing now.

In DEMO school, one of the assignments was to DEMOe a report on PTSD in a certain community.

I got the DEMO to write a book on bullying.

I had DEMO coming up to me in tears, and DEMO were expressing that it wasn't just kids DEMOing on them, but it was teachers as well.

So I DEMOized that the book would be a tool for educators.

I DEMO my first presentation to an audience of DEMOhers, police officers, school safety officers, DEMOhologists, psychiatrists, and everyone basically DEMO deals with kids on a daily basis.

And DEMO were very cooperative and gave me the opportunity to DEMOk at all the local elementary schools in town.

DEMOe then, I've just been trying to take the initiative to get out and DEMOk to as many kids as possible.

DEMOs everyone doing today?

I DEMO't hear you the first time.

DEMOering] DEMOe we go.

Who DEMOs what the number one form of bullying is today?

DEMOone said it, what was it?

DEMOrbullying.

Cyberbullying, that's correct.

DEMOying today takes place through cyberbullying, DEMOical bullying, and verbal bullying.

DEMOntimes, bullying goes unnoticed, and it can be in the DEMO minor forms.

My DEMOose of the book is to make teachers more aware of the DEMOous forms that kids use to target other kids.

I DEMOced a scary trend in bullying rates, DEMOifically amongst those in my community.

So the DEMO through this book is highlighting the DEMO community.

DEMOs go through bullying at twice the national average rate DEMOuse we stand out.

Are you DEMOwed to show your hair in public?

DEMO question.

So am I DEMOwed to show my hair in public?

The DEMOer is no.

So DEMOever I step out of my house, it has to be covered.

And DEMO because it's like a uniform.

So DEMO like a police officer wouldn't DEMO out of their department without their uniform on.

DEMOlarly, Sikhs have to be in their uniform.

- DEMO happens if you don't wear it?

- DEMO happens if I don't wear it?

DEMOs gonna come down and I'm gonna go to hell.

I'm DEMO kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

I did my DEMOer's writing a report on bullying in DEMOols in New Jersey.

I DEMOhed out to the kids there and I asked them to go DEMOever they went to school and how they felt.

And I DEMO their data to strengthen DEMO I had written in the past in my book.

The DEMOion kind of came from my faith.

Our DEMO kind of tenets of our faith are to DEMO an honest living, to remember God at all DEMOs, and to serve others.

DEMO's why I chose this path, is because it was one way to DEMO of raise awareness, and also to make an impact.

DEMOging] The DEMOan, it's a ceremonial sword of varying lengths.

I DEMO the initiative to raise awareness about it DEMOuse I knew I was going to get confronted DEMOt carrying a weapon into these buildings.

So I DEMOhed out to the state police.

We DEMOed a short and informative video about the DEMOan and what law enforcement officials can do DEMO they interact with someone wearing it.

DEMO was not only disseminated across all the law enforcement DEMOcers, but also I shared that with my local community.

And DEMO kind of gave them an insight as to folks in uniform are DEMOe to actually help you.

I DEMOed the zoning board in Voorhees Township towards the end of DEMOrgrad.

I'm the DEMOgest on the board.

DEMOg on the zoning board gives me an opportunity to see what DEMOdents are experiencing on a day-to-day basis.

DEMO a good opportunity to see the involvement that the public has DEMO issues are brought up.

It was DEMO placing my hand on our scripture and sending DEMO message like, "Voorhees Township is inclusive."

It was an DEMOrtunity to put everything I was learning in DEMOs into kind of practice.

DEMO I first got into Rutgers and I was commuting DEMOe every day, I did have the usual concerns DEMO folks have of my faith, if I would be targeted by DEMOying and stuff like that.

But DEMOall Rutgers as a whole, the Camden campus is a very DEMOoming and open community.

DEMOre trying to study?

Oh, DEMOuse you have to do the licensing exam.

So DEMO's like the bar exam basically.

DEMO, basically, the licensure exam.

My DEMOre career plans are to get involved in DEMOrnment and eventually I want to run for office and DEMOfully I can change up the way things are DEMOing in society.

I DEMO like the policies aren't doing the job that they're DEMOosed to, so kind of just restructuring and changing the DEMOre setup of those policies is necessary.

Now DEMOe going to do that turpentine DEMOnstration on Mr.

Maggs.

I DEMO community service and activism.

We do DEMO a large, growing, diverse community in DEMOen County.

The DEMOle here want to see you succeed, and the folks around you are DEMOys there to help.

DEMO though it may feel like you're not doing DEMO or it feels mundane, it's necessary because you DEMOr know when someone might need your presence.

And DEMO's why I like public service, because it gives you an DEMOrtunity to be there at the right moment.

DEMOlause) The DEMO people get involved, the better the outcome.

DEMOyone often complains about the system and how DEMO not beneficial for folks, but if DEMOre just sitting on the sidelines, DEMOing's gonna change, so it's important to be involved in it and get DEMOve because that's how we're gonna make the change, but DEMO not gonna come overnight.

DEMO getting better slowly, but we always have to be proactive and DEMO sure no one goes through it.

So DEMO's kind of why I have to do it today.

A lot of DEMOs, kids in my community don't realize the DEMOrtance of remembering a purpose.

Do the DEMOt work every day.

DEMO's kind of what keeps me going.

DEMOtle music) - You can DEMOrience some of the other DEMOaordinary Jersey residents profiled in the 21 DEMO series at mynjpbs.org/21.

DEMO's gonna do it for us tonight.

I'm DEMOna Vannozzi.

- New DEMOey Education Association, DEMOng public schools great for every child.

And DEMOarnabas Health.

DEMOs be healthy together.

- DEMOr funding for the 21 film series is in DEMO provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

DEMOtional funding is provided by the PSEG Foundation.

- NJM DEMOrance Group has been part of New Jersey for DEMO a century.

We DEMOort our communities through NJM's corporate DEMOng program, supporting arts and DEMOure related and nonprofit organizations DEMO serve to improve the lives of children, DEMOild communities, and help to create a new DEMOration of safe drivers.

DEMOe proud to be part of New Jersey.

DEMO we've got New Jersey covered.

- DEMOever your cancer journey, there's one place in New Jersey DEMOe our discoveries become your care.

DEMOll have access to advanced treatments, DEMOuding clinical trials, thanks to our DEMOwned scientists and multidisciplinary teams at New DEMOey's only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center, the one DEMOd-class cancer program that's close to home.

DEMOarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute.

DEMOs beat cancer together.

DEMOIC]