AACC Film Forum: Stronger Than Steel: The Senator Wynona Lipman Story

MAM’s African American Cultural Committee (AACC) presents its 17th annual Film Forum with a screening of Stronger Than Steel: The Senator Wynona Lipman Story. A discussion with local filmmaker Celeste A. Bateman and former legislative aid to Senator Lipman Vickie Donaldson, moderated by award-winning author and journalist Charisse Jones, will explore both Senator Wynona Lipman’s rise to power and her Montclair roots.

As the first African-American female State Senator in NJ, Senator Wynona Lipman dedicated 27 years representing the 29th Legislative, having championed the well-being of underserved populations and achieved passage of the Domestic Violence Act of 1981 and the Fair Housing Act of 1985, among many other Bills. The documentary Stronger Than Steel (A Blue Butterfly Arts & Media Production) examines her life and how she achieved her goals while battling gender and racial discrimination.

The Stronger Than Steel documentary was made possible by funds from the Essex County Division of Arts, Cultural and Historic Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Light refreshments will be provided.

The AACC Film Forum is an annual MAM event created by emerita AACC member Lonnie Brandon.

^{Celeste A. Bateman, Producer/Director of Stronger Than Steel: The Senator Wynona Lipman Story, began her career in arts administration at The Newark Museum and eventually became the Cultural Affairs Supervisor for the City of Newark before starting her own business in 1998, Celeste Bateman & Associates, LLC. She later became interim Executive Director of the Newark Arts Council (now NewarkArts). In 2015, she served as interim Executive Director at Art House Productions, an eclectic visual and performing arts venue in Jersey City. She is a filmmaker, director of ELMART Theatre Service, which takes audiences to the Black theater, and creative director of Five Women Performance Ensemble. Ms. Bateman is the recipient of a 2024 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.}

^{Richard W. Roper, a public policy consultant, retired in 2010 as director of the Planning Department at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He held senior positions in government agencies with experience in nonprofit organizations, academic research, teaching, and administration. Roper began his career as director of the Office of Newark Metropolitan Studies and prior to that, the Legislative Aide to Newark’s first African American Mayor, Kenneth Gibson. He was a founding trustee of Newark Emergency Services for Families, Newark Public Radio, Inc., New Jersey Institute of Social Justice, and University Heights Charter School. Roper was also co-founder of the New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute, Inc. and Leadership Newark.}