July 1967. Newark is under siege. The War is Here documents how the Black community of Newark, New Jersey fought to maintain some semblance of normalcy under the regime of a thoroughly corrupt local government and a vicious, authoritarian police force. When a local cab driver, John Smith, is arrested, violently beaten, and imprisoned by police, there is days-long protest that soon catches National attention at the turn of the Civil Rights Movement. Bud Lee, a 26-year-old photographer for Life Magazine is assigned to cover Newark and finds stores burnt and looted, a city under siege by trigger-happy city and state police, and the young, inexperienced National Guardsmen sent to patrol day and night. Even as an outsider, Lee's photographs, all but a few of which have never been published before now, captures in living memory and stark color the traumatic depravity of life under racial injustice and police violence. Lee's images, which sparked national controversy at the time, still resonate today as the fight continues against white supremacy.