PRX's 2007 Zeitfunk Award for:
5 Days in July - Radio Program

Schultz and Podemski also produced a one hour special for radio. The 30 minute radio drama written by award-winning playwright Tracey Scott Wilson merges drama and documentary to re-examine the historical events surrounding the 1967 Newark Riots. Schultz directs the 14 member ensemble cast which includes Chad L. Coleman and Dion Graham of HBO's acclaimed series The Wire. The drama is followed by a 30 minute discussion with host CBS News Sunday Morning commentator, Nancy Giles and scholars Thomas J. Sugrue, University of Pennsylvania, Eddie Glaude, Jr., Princeton University, and Max Herman, New Jersey City University.

Listen to the trailer >

Holland Cotter, New York Times
Art in Review | December 28, 2007
5 Days in July at Aljira and more.

“The centerpiece is the video component of the installation “5 Days in July” by Chuck Schultz and Esther Podemski.  A short, skillfully edited montage of television news reel and archival films, it is a startling distillation of the event of that summer, with images of the world right outside Aljira’s doors going up in flames, people running in panic from sniper fire, and government leaders casting blame every which way. You come away feeling that no terrorists could have done anything worse to the American city than what America itself did.”

Read Full Article >

Essay by Bonnie Yochelson:
5 Days in July: A Video Installation

Using film footage from television, government, and private archives, Chuck Schultz and Esther Podemski’s 5 Days in July conveys the essential facts of Newark’s 1967 riots.  In ten short minutes, we see black residents living in substandard housing; we meet John Smith, the cab driver whose arrest and beating sparked the disturbance; we hear from activists who express the frustration of Newark’s underemployed black community; we watch as New Jersey Governor Richard Hughes declares the riots criminally – not politically – motivated; we witness the looting, the fires, and the tanks, as well as National Guardsmen shooting long-range rifles into apartment buildings; and, in the end, we see a city in ruins.

Read Full Article >

 

• https://www.facebook.com/aljira/
• bcri.org
• NPR radio program