Youth Radio - Topic: Election 2008

Powershift '09

wilmer — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:41:45 -0600

Friday February 27th was the first of three days the Washington DC convention center would play host to the Powershift Conference 2009. The environmental conference featured lectures, workshops, job opportunities, and performances by recording artist Santagold and the legendary Roots band.The conference’s goals were to spread awareness about efficient methods of using current resources, moving toward more sustainable resources within the next ten years, and dispelling the myth of “clean coal”. Keynote speaker Van Jones of the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, Ca made sure to point out the error many people make, including President Obama, with assuming that “clean coal” will alter emission levels in the atmosphere. “Clean coal?... oh, yes that’s a brilliant idea, maybe after that we can have unicorns to harnessed to our vehicles to pull us around,” Jones said sarcastically to the assembly of liberal college students and community organizing non profit workers. Honestly, It wasn’t my type of crowd, and if it wasn’t the colorful language wrapped around progressive ideas- the Howard University fashion show would have been the only thing would have kept my attention.

“Green is the new Black”, said Amal Bennett-Judge, organizer of the Howard fashion show, as she floated around the changing room making last minute arrangements. She continued to explain that in the fashion world, black is never out of style- in turn, our world must forever keep this green movement in style. Who would think to find deep concepts in a room full of mirrors and cosmetics?

The boutique beauty in the dressing room was a visual contradiction to the grittiness of the conference itself. People turned the convention center floor into a bed/breakfast/ Frisbee field during all hours of the day. In reference to people’s hygiene, activist and comedic environmentalist Reginald James asked, “is halitosis an environmental concern.” And Martin Macias Jr, a journalist and activist from the south side of Chicago stated, “the revolution would not be deodorized.”

But all jokes aside, the conference hit home as I played fly on the wall to a conversation between Darryl Perkins of the Hip Hop Caucus and Holmes Hummel-- acclaimed professor of environmental justice at the University of California Berkeley. That's when it dawned on me. This is real. No colorful language needed. These two agreed that a meeting was necessary, as inner city America, the demographic of the Hip-Hop caucus’ primary focus, needs to be the leader of this change-not just part of the pack.

Fracheyez Jackson, a rap artist and activist from Oakland, Ca, eloquently stated that his work in the “green” movement was here to “revitalize the urban sprawls of America”. His statement came as I left the DC downtown area, and passed boarded up houses and vacant los that could potentially be gardens. We were riding the 70 bus headed uptown on Georgia Ave. We passed the one grocery store within a 15 minute radius, and I thought about the statistics that had been thrown out at the conference: “your food travels 15,000 miles to get here”, "if oil prices skyrocketed today- you wouldn’t be able to eat next Friday”, and “ your local grocer is three days away from having empty shelves.

Self sustainability is what Oakland activist Van Jones spoke about, it is also what Martin Macias Jr. does regularly on the South Side of Chicago. So if self sustainability is what the inner cites of America are calling for, then doesn’t it make sense the change would start in the urban setting of the Nation’s capitol? I laughed, that’s just another joke, as we got off the bus at Howard University, the only college in the District of Columbia without a recycling program.

Inauguration Madness [Commentary]

caitlin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:14:59 -0600

Learning about instantaneous slope and related rates at 8 a.m. is not the most exhilarating thing, but I didn’t resent having math first period that much until this whole inauguration business started happening.

At first our school wasn’t going to do anything about the inauguration, and teachers just seemed to ignore it. But yesterday our principal made an announcement on the intercom that first period would be extended on Tuesday, January 20th to have time to watch the ceremony.

However, many classes won’t be watching it because of their subject matter. Mostly all of the history and government classes will be viewing it in their classrooms and a lot of non-academic classes are going to the school auditorium to watch it, but people like me who have academic classes first period won’t be able to watch it.

Our teacher says that it could be perceived as “biased” to show Obama’s inauguration since not everyone likes him, and also that we can’t waste time because we need to prepare for our final exams the next week. However, I contest that this is pure 100% bologna. Watching the inauguration is just as much of an historical event as a political one, and who could be “biased” about watching history in the making?

I find it unfair that the kids who happen to have non-academic or history class first period get to watch the event but others don’t. And as hard of a class my first period math is, and as much as I would appreciate the extra time to prepare for midterms, I’d watch history happen over studying any day. It’s not like I turned down watching election night TV to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Studying is something we can do anytime, and watching the first Black president be sworn in as the President of the United States of America definitely is not. As for me, I’ll be conveniently taking a “bathroom break” at 8:30 Tuesday morning.

O Captain! My Captain!

hmoorman — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:55:30 -0600

By Samuel Coronado

I have always believed that politics has the power to impact people in an important way. Although I hold this belief, I have not been moved to tears by many political events in my lifetime. On Nov. 4, 2008 one such event occurred. Along with millions of other Americans I cried, rejoicing at the election of our nation’s first African-American president. My emotions were a mixture of jubilance and teary-eyed sappiness and amid those emotions I knew others were not so pleased.

On my way to school the next day, a friend of mine told me about posts he had seen on an internet forum where Obama supporters were taunting those who had supported McCain. I couldn’t stand hearing about such behavior. On the news, reports were coming in that hate crimes were being committed against African-Americans where the attacker(s) would make it clear they were attacking as a result of president-elect Obama’s victory. Hearing these things, I remembered something I heard from a man our new president-elect reminds me of.

In Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, he said, “we are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” These words ring just as true now as they did back then. Our political process doesn’t exist to divide the nation and promote hate. This is certainly no time for degrading our democracy into a game where the winners make fun of the losers and the losers punish the winners in any way they can. To all who believe it is, they must learn that politics is more serious than that. To keep this country running requires all of us.

We live in a country that is diverse and full of opinions. Conflicting opinions have always been healthy for keeping our country on a moderate track towards progress. Progress is halted when those with opinions refuse to work with those whom their opinions oppose. Alexander Hamilton believed that “men often oppose a thing, merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because they have been planned by those whom they dislike.” We must prove this belief wrong.

Americans from all over the country must come together and engage in healthy dialogues over the issues that matter to them. Don’t scream at someone who feels differently than you and don’t look down on them because they feel a certain way. Reach out to them and find the middle ground you can agree on. It’s unfortunate to see proud and patriotic Americans tell others they are not patriotic because of how they voted. The Founding Fathers didn’t risk their lives to create a democracy in which petty bickering would substantiate our political dialogue.

Whoever you supported this election, make it a point to keep the person who supported the other candidate in your thoughts and actions. As an Obama supporter, I am more than willing to reach out to those who voted for McCain and to work with them to create a better country. We will never progress if we sit on our hands and refuse to work together.

We only have one America. Whoever is at the wheel still relies on a great number of workers to make the ship sail smoothly.

Lincoln also advised that “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds.” Let’s heed Lincoln’s advice and keep this ship sailing on.

Teach Youth Radio Nov to Dec: Hope Out of the Box

lissa — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:29:51 -0600

Teach Youth Radio
A free, online curriculum resource to integrate youth-produced radio stories into school classrooms
What's the story?

Hope Out of the Box
By Orlando Campbell

In this story, Youth Radio’s Orlando Campbell uses Barack Obama’s Presidential win as a point of departure for an exploration of hope—one of the strongest themes running through Obama’s campaign. Orlando doesn’t dwell so much on political rhetoric. Through interviews with other young people and scholars, he considers the complicated ways that hope can function in a whole range of contexts: family dynamics, teacher-student relationships, ancient Greek myths, social change efforts, and even the treatment of terminal disease. The story raises a poignant question: When can hope hurt?

Orlando: “Strong hopeful leaders can be huge inspirations and help us improve our lives. But the hope that adults push onto us isn’t always realistic. Like when people have told me and my friends that getting a job would keep us out of trouble…When some of us got turned down time after time, we lost hope in the possibility of getting a legal job and in the people who preached to us it was possible.”

After finishing this story, which aired on NPR's Morning Edition, Orlando helped develop the lesson ideas you’ll find here. Please use these ideas as points of departure for learning in your own classrooms. You can also check out the story as it originally appeared on our website, where you'll find three additional interviews with hope experts, in case your students want to go further with this theme (scroll down to the "web extras"). Let us know what you come up with!

Standards Alignment

Subject: English
Reading for perspective
Evaluation strategies
Communication skills
Communication strategies
Applying knowledge
Evaluating data
Developing research skills
Participating in society
Applying language skills
Multicultural understanding

Subject: Social Sciences and Civics
Principles of democracy
Roles of a citizen
Civic life, politics, and government

Subject: Health and Science (with a little Math for good measure!)
Health promotion and disease prevention
Using communication skills to promote health
Science as inquiry
Personal and social perspectives

Lesson Ideas

Pre-Listening Activity
Before you play this story for your students, have them free-write on the subject of hope. Ask them to respond to the following prompts: What does hope mean to you? Describe one positive experience you’ve had with hope, and one negative experience. How have those experiences affected you in a lasting way?

Post-Listening Activity
After Orlando’s opening image of Pandora’s box, the first voices you hear in this story come from a series of young people defining what hope means to them. Have your students compare what they heard in the story with the first-person narratives of hope they wrote down before listening to the Youth Radio piece.

Language Arts

Pandora’s Box: Orlando begins his story with the myth of Pandora’s Box. Have your students do some research to learn more about this story and explore the questions it raises: Should Pandora be blamed for opening the box, when she was told not to, under any circumstances? Is curiosity a gift or curse? How does gender figure in this story, to the extent that Pandora—the first woman on earth—emerges as a symbol of desire, temptation and violation, but also the guardian of hope? After examining the “official” story with questions like these, invite your students to play with the narrative. Re-tell the Pandora story in a modern context, casting Pandora as a young person the same age as your students. What are the present-day forces of evil and suffering that would escape from the vessel she carries? What would the vessel be? What is Pandora like? Why does she open the box? What happens next?

Images that Stick: The story has lots of powerful moments. When Rynesha chokes up while talking about her grandmother. When Quincy talks about putting his hand on the refrigerator and praying for food to come. When Dr. Spiegel talks about his cancer patient, being admonished by her husband for crying and making the cancer worse. Have your students closely examine these moments. What makes them powerful? It’s not always easy to draw out these kinds of images from interviewees. After reviewing Youth Radio’s interview tips (and also these from a writer who led a workshop in our newsroom), have your students pair off and interview each other on the subject of hope. Coach them on ways to draw out concrete, detailed images and stories from their interviewees, and then share those moments with the class.

Social Sciences and Civics

Track Records on Hope: President-elect Barack Obama staked his campaign on the intertwined concepts of hope and change. Now that he’s preparing to enter office, the US and world public will be watching closely, to see whether his administration can deliver on its promise. Have your students break into small groups and assign each a past US President from a key point in American history (e.g., the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement). Ask them to research what their assigned President promised the American people while running for office, and to what extent he was able to come through on those campaign commitments. How did those Presidents strive to maintain hope—in their leadership, in the future—in trying times? What strategies were successful, and which ones failed? What are the dangers of a President who does not follow through on his or her promises and plans for the nation?

Hope and Disappointment: Orlando shares his own contradictory experiences with hope. Sure, it can inspire people and help them improve their lives. “But the hope that adults push onto us isn’t always realistic,” Orlando says. Like when adults have told him and his friends that they can turn their lives around by getting a job, and then no one’s hiring. It can make young people lose hope in their own circumstances and in “the people who preached to us it was possible.” It’s striking that Orlando chooses the subject of employment in his discussion of hope and its counterpoints—disappointment and cynicism—given the current economic crisis and alarming rates of unemployment. Have your students examine media coverage of the current crisis, and look at the ways in which government officials, economists, policy-makers, and citizens are trying to keep Americans hopeful but also realistic about employment prospects in the present and future. What would your students say to their constituents, if they were in those leadership roles?

Health and Science

Hope Deferred: Orlando is interested in the long-term psychological effects for young people who are repeatedly promised hope, with no follow through. It’s something the social service sector in the United States is often criticized for: building up young people’s hopes through a short-term program or temporary relationship with a caring adult, but failing to sustain those resources for long enough, or deeply enough, to make a real difference in the life of a child. Have your students identify five youth service organizations in their community. Break the students into five groups, each assigned to one organization. Work together as a whole class to develop a brief list of questions through which the students can get a sense of how the organizations both inspire and sustain the hopes of young people they serve. After practicing in class, have one student from each group interview a spokesperson from their assigned organization. Share results.

Hope and Health: Orlando’s story hints at a relationship between the feeling of hope and the science of disease. Reflecting on the interview with Dr. Spiegel, now Orlando wants to know, “What parts of the brain does the feeling of hope stimulate?” Have your students see if they can find an answer to that question. To discover more about how hope affects health and human biology, have them listen to this interview with Dr. Jerome Groopman about his research on the anatomy of hope. Then revisit the scene Dr. Spiegel describes in the Youth Radio story—where one of his patients starts to cry, and her husband tells her to stop, or “you’ll make the cancer spread.” In light of the insights your students have discovered through their research and listening, how might the doctor in this scene respond to the patient’s tears, and the husband’s response?

Calculations: Is it possible to quantify how hope works in a person’s life? Does 1 hope – 1 hope = no hope? What other forces can multiply hope? What divides hope? What makes one hope greater than another hope? What does it take to prove hope? Is there such a thing as negative hope? Have your students propose a mathematical equation where hope is one variable, write it up on the board, have their peers try to “solve” it, and then explain what their equations mean.

Critical Media Literacy

Complicating Hope: As we’ve said, Obama ran on a campaign of hope. But what’s interesting is that if you listen closely to his speeches, he was always careful to contextualize his promise. Have your students watch and listen to his victory speech at the Iowa caucuses on January 3, 2008. Ask them to write down key phrases and passages where Obama makes reference to hope. As a full class, do a close textual analysis of how Obama modulates and complicates his message of hope. How does he respond to the people who’ve derided him for talking about hope? How does he distinguish hope from “blind optimism?” How does he characterize the relationship between hope, action, and responsibility?

Media Effects: At Youth Radio, we always hope that our stories will inspire audience responses, and this one certainly did, in comment streams from listeners who heard Orlando’s story on NPR and our own site. But there was one comment that especially stood out: “Dear Orlando,” someone wrote, “Thank you so much for the hope that you have given to me by your voice and your words in the commentary you did in 'Hope Out of the Box.' I have watched you grow all these years and have been hoping that you would become as incredible a person as I now see you becoming. You are truly an inspiration and I am so very sure that the weight you now help carry will become lighter with each step…” It was a message from one of Orlando’s relatives, revealing how youth media producers can touch not only distant audiences, but also their own families and communities, by sharing their stories. We highlight this comment not so much as a lesson idea, but to encourage you to have your students submit their stories to Youth Radio, so they, too, can reach audiences both far away and up close.

Meet the Commentator

Orlando Campbell AKA Roach Gigz is a hip-hop artist from the Bay Area. Born and raised in San Francisco, he currently resides in Oakland, CA. His group, B.I.G. (Roach Gigz and Lil 4Tay), has had their songs played on 106 KMEL and WILD 949 in a number of mix shows. The group produced their hit song “I Get It” at the old Youth Radio in Berkeley where Orlando used to take classes. He now splits his time touring with Atlantic artist Mistah Fab, preparing for his upcoming album, and working at the new Youth Radio building in Oakland. His commentaries have been featured on NPR’s Day To Day and Morning Edition, and on KQED and KALW.

Media Production Techniques

Check out these tips and guidelines for youth making media.

Obama Finally Picks Hillary

denise — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:50:54 -0600

Finally, Obama elects Hillary Clinton as secretary of State. After weeks of wondering, it is now official that both Obama and Hillary are joining forces to improve the United States. But if you ask me, I saw it coming.

For starters, Hillary supporters were upset with Obama’s victory over Hillary. Secondly, picking Biden over Hillary for vice president made them more upset. Luckily people were so eager to substitute Bush with a Democratic runner which made it easier for Obama to get to the White House. Picking Hillary as secretary of State was simply his way to make it up to Hillary supporters.

Of course my opinion differs from others, but one thing is consistent, both of them are working to re-build America. January is around the corner and I know people are anxiously waiting to see our new government in action.

The Washington Post has more on this story.

Students Need an Education Bailout (VIDEO)

rebecca — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:32:45 -0500

By Taylor Riddle

A few months ago, Taylor Riddle was at the top of his game as one of the youngest delegates at the Democratic Convention. He already had an impressive resume, including a stint as a Congressional Page in Washington, D.C. In Denver big names in politics like Representative John Lewis knew him by name. Now Taylor finds himself as one of many young Americans caught unexpectedly in the middle of the financial crisis.

Let me cut to the chase. I may have to drop out of college because two thousand dollars is standing between me and my education. I never expected to face this dilemma. The credit freeze that everyone keeps talking about could freeze me out of finishing my freshman year at the University of Arkansas.

Like a lot of young Americans, I’m using federal loans to pay for the bulk of my college expenses. But I still owe 7 thousand dollars for the rest of the school year. My family doesn’t have that kind of money.

My parents are very middle class. My mom works as a respiratory therapist and is currently in between jobs. My Dad is a golf pro, but not the Tiger Woods kind. The kind that works at a golf course and makes 50 to 60 thousand dollars a year.

My parents can’t afford to pay for any of my education out of pocket. So my plan was to get a bank loan. But that plan fell through when the economic crisis hit.

With banks so nervous about lending, it’s students like me who aren’t making the cut. And we don’t have time for the credit markets to thaw. I only have a matter of weeks to settle what I owe the University by the end of this semester – two thousand dollars.

I’ve hit a fork in the road.

I either have to drop out of college and go back home to save money or ask friends and neighbors for loans to keep me in school. It’s completely humiliating to know I have no control over my future.

I’m not alone. The economy has become a big conversation in my dorm. I know kids who are leaving at the end of this semester and others who may have to leave at the end of the year. Some can’t get bank loans and some just can’t afford the day to day expenses. A lot of students’ cars haven’t moved because they can’t afford to pay for gas, even with gas being as low as a dollar seventy nine here.

Everyone’s talking about the bailout for Wall Street, and a possible bailout for auto companies, but I’d like to see a bailout package for higher education, for people like me, an average student from an average town - Jonesboro, Arkansas. The country wants young people to be able to compete in this global economy. But the U.S. can’t produce a large pool of college graduates if many of us have to drop out.

Taylor Riddle is working with his student government association to try to get the Arkansas state legislature to address the funding crisis for students.

CNN's Campbell Brown commented on being struck by Taylor Riddle's essay over the weekend and how it foreshadowed a looming crisis for college students who can't access credit to pay expenses and stay in school.

Previously:

Recent College Graduate for Hire

Ladies and Gentlemen, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?

kara — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:53:05 -0600

So a couple of Obama aides have told the press that former rival Hillary Clinton is being considered for Secretary of State, which president-elect Barack Obama did not want to be leaked out this early. If you would look back at the primaries, it would be a bit ironic to consider Senator Clinton as Obama's secretary of state, let alone any cabinet post, since he pressed hard on the fact that she was one of the Beltway insiders and that she represents politics as usual.

Obama harps on the idea of himself being the embodiment of change, and representing a new generation of politics, but he is thinking about having a veteran join his administration, a veteran who he called the "same ol', same ol'" while running against her in the 2008 primary process, wouldn't that just contradict his movement of innovation in Washington?

I would at least expect him to select someone who is an unknown but is still able to be a strong asset to his administration.

Obama's Youth Appeal Trumps Political Apathy

ssewell — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:36:43 -0600

By Rynesha Snowden

I’ve never been interested in politics before, but seeing a Black man run for president made me pay attention. This election was the first one I was old enough to vote in, and I’m juiced that the candidate I voted for won. One of the main reasons I voted for Barack Obama was because I wanted to see myself, and my race, represented in the White House for the first time. I saw something special in Obama, especially with him being both black and white. I think his mixed background allowed him to appeal to a wider audience. Another important reason I voted for him is because Obama reached out to young people. He showed us that he cared about us and our vote. And it obviously worked in his favor. According to the New York Times, more young people aged 18-29 years old came out to vote than for any election since 1972. And the overall youth turnout was estimated to be between 21.6 million and 23.9 million, which is up from 19.4 million in 2004. Obama reached the young people by running the most technologically aware campaign ever. He sent MySpace, Facebook and text messages, and there was even “Obama Girl” making videos to support him on YouTube. I think Obama being younger than previous candidates allowed him to be more aware of how young people interact with media, and with one another. He took the time and consideration to show young people that he was trying to identify with us, and that he was a part of us, and that means a lot to me.

Skeptics versus Believers

caitlin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:56:00 -0600

After the hype and excitement of Obama's victory November 4 has died down, people are beginning to look more closely at what Obama will bring to the future. President-elect Obama was voted in on the basis of his groundbreaking campaign. He used the ideals of hope and change to promise Americans of the country that they want to see. But now that he is officially in there, even Obama supporters and fellow Democrats are becoming skeptical that he can deliver on all his promises and the hope he gave to the American people. Meanwhile, the believers are getting hyped up for January 20, and that's when the skeptics will find out if the promises were empty or not as well.

Here's a few links I've been tracking of both the "believers" and the "skeptics":

Believers
Obama brings hope to SF State students
The Oregonian
Obama brings hope to Kenya
Obama brings hope to Global Warming
Obama inspires hope in India and Pakistan

Skeptics
The Newstatesman
Mysinchew.com
Mideast Youth
Instablogs
UK Bishop questions Obama
Obama Skeptics in Asia
Confessions of an Obama Skeptic

The Fallout of Prop 8

kchau — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:57:41 -0600

I was watching the election results on the TV at work. When Obama stepped up to the podium with the American flag behind him. I knew at that exact moment that anything was possible.

But then, not even 12 hours later, my feeling of sheer bliss was snatched away from me with a phone call from my good friend Ray-Ray…She was near tears . She was like, “Anthony, Prop 8 passed. What the hell is wrong with America?”

Yes on Prop 8 used all kinds of underhanded tricks to persuade people to believe in their ignorance. Like running an ad trying to convince me that second graders will decide to be gay after learning about gay marriage in school. As if people decide to be gay on account that we have no problems and it’s way easier to be gay than straight.

I should have known it’d be too good to be true for both civil rights issues I care most about to change in the same election. One out of two is OK, but in school, 50 percent is still an F.