FORWARDEVER MEDIA CENTER
Writer Alex
Haley writing The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Brother Malcolm.
"The
media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make
the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power.
Because they control the minds of the masses."
- Malcolm X
Mission
The Forwardever Media Center is 100% committed to providing unconventional writing workshops and media literacy training to "at-risk" Black youth, particularly males, ages 14 through 24. Working in partnership with The Mentoring Center in Oakland, CA., the Center's writing workshops, website internship, and film forums, help students develop critical thinking skills and discover their creative talents. We recruit youth for our programs from the California Youth Authority (the state's largest prison for youth) as well as from universities and high schools. This cross-pollination of young minds creates dynamic shared experiences.
Programs
Whatchusay Cinema–A monthly film forum hosted at schools or community centers in Northern California that explores issues such as race, class, gender, and society. Students are joined by a panel of activists, educators, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc. to rate the films and convene roundtable discussions about corresponding relevant issues in society. For info about film screenings and schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com
Writing Workshops–We offer intensive seminars in journalism, creative writing, cultural criticism, new media, film production, etc. These seminars are taught at the center, located at 1224 Preservation Park, Oakland, CA, 94612. They are also available on location, at schools, community and detention centers, churches, etc. For info about class schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com
Internships–Whatchusay.com offers competitive internships to young writers who have clearly demonstrated a passion for the craft of writing or media production. The 3-month internship covers news writing and reporting, feature writing, creative writing, media literacy and new media. Working in partnership with community based organizations, universities and international and national media outlets, we produce a pipeline of informed journalists of color who will go on to create their own independent media organizations or work for major media organizations.
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Where is the Love? Open Letter on Black-on-Black Violence
Some of us have been killed, shot, raped stabbed, cut, burned or beaten by someone who looks just like us. Why? Is the pain in our hearts so deep that we can kill and not feel? Have we, many whose ancestors were enslaved, and whose parents and grandparents once picked cotton and cut sugar cane and tobacco, lost our appreciation for life? Have we lost our way? Did our families come out West or move up North to have grandparents see their grandchildren kill each other in streets of cities like Oakland, Los Angeles, Baltimore, New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and others?
Woman in New Orleans housing project grieves over the violent death of a friend
Who picks up the pieces when we kill someone or get locked up? Who is there to walk our children to school and help our mothers and our grandmothers in thier last dying days? Who helps our parents or visits them when they are sick? When someone gets killed, at least three families are wounded - the family of the victim, the family of the killer, adn the entire community family. The loss, hurt, and pain is magnified many times over and never fully heals.
Have you ever heard people talk about how much money someone had at thier funeral? Do people talk about their jewelry or cars? Of course not. At the end of the day, we realize that life is precious and for many, way too short. We realize that our loved ones were special and did their best in a life filled with joy, pain, and hardship, and despite their faults, were good people.
What We Can Do
Starting now, this is how we have to live life: LET ALL THE PETTY STUFF GO. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Squash differences. Talk. Trust people. Settle problems without shooting. Converse with the elders in your community. Go deep within and ask the Creator for guidance. THINK. We can't keep killing ourselves like this.
Years ago we feared men in white sheets riding through the night. Today, we fear each other. Something is wrong with this picture. This did NOT happen by accident, and there are no accidental solutions. We have to consistently ask ourselves tough questions like, How did this come to be? Where is the love we once had for our families? Where is the love we once had for ourselves? Where is the love?
Posted on October 3, 2007 11:42 PM
