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.
More...July 24, 2008 7:03 PM
by Pendarvis Harshaw
Led by Howard university's Chair of Physics department Dr. Gregory Jenkins; a group of 20 of Howard's brightest spent their 2007 Spring Break in New Orleans, to not only help with revitalizing the city, but also research in hopes of realizing the problems of the city. The group studied in depth the effects of government, capitalism, and global warming on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, but as Doc. J says "you can't know anything about the result without knowing the origin of the problem."
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July 24, 2008 6:51 PM
by Maya Pope-Chappell
If you were to turn on a popular video music channel, you’d probably see a video portraying a Black man either pressed up against some half naked chicks, throwing money in the air, or a combination of both. What you won’t see are healthy images of Black masculinity or fatherhood. In a society where Black masculinity is revered as a commodity, a product that is marketed, sold, and mass consumed, Be A Father to Your Child: Real Talk From Black Men On Family, Love, And Fatherhood is a God-send.
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May 4, 2008 12:48 AM
by Kevin Powell
I knew this verdict was coming. I have lived in New York City for nearly two decades and, before that, worked as a news reporter for several publications throughout the citys five boroughs, and I cannot begin to tell you how many cases of police brutality and police misconduct I covered or witnessed, more often than not a person of color on the receiving end: Eleanor Bumpurs. Michael Stewart. Amadou Diallo. Now Sean Bell.
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April 30, 2008 10:48 AM
by Tresa Chambers
My immediate response to the image was utter offense. LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen posed like the King Kong and fair lady of a previous era on the cover of Vogue magazine. The image of King James, as LeBron is called by basketball fans, in his basketball uniform grimacing at the camera while grasping at the fashionably dressed Gisele who seems to be smiling only to attempt to appease him, was undeniably offensive. Wasn't it?
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April 8, 2008 6:46 PM
by Maya Pope-Chappell
The media had a field day with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his "anti-American" antics. The "God damn America" and "Chickens coming home to roost" sound bites were broadcast in a constant loop from CNN to Fox News. The once respected preacher was quickly turned into public enemy number one. At least that's what I thought when I first wrote this piece following the Wright firestorm. However, my feelings toward Wright have taken a turn since the National Press Club stint in which Wright answered questions about his beliefs, American politics, and the Black church.
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March 31, 2008 10:38 AM
By James Morgan
According to a recent article on Wired Magazines website the two major social networking websites have finally found a weakness in there online empires. Myspace.com and Facebook.com are both websites that have taken the internet and our generation by storm. They allow for people from across the planet to meet and share stories, information, pictures and events with a variety of people on a variety of topics. However now as other networking sites are slowly popping up advertiser and investors are starting to ask are these two gigantic websites a little too general?
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March 4, 2008 11:06 AM
by James Morgan
So today I was searching online to see the new Boondocks episodes that I had been missing recently. I happened to find out that two episodes had been cut. "Why?" I wondered. I came to find out that in these two episodes series creator Aaron Mcgruder had taken satirical swipes at B.E.T. or as I like to call it "Black Exploitation Television."
I started to write a blog about the suppression of freedom of speech in the Black community but then I remembered something... B.E.T. is not owned by the Black community but a company known as Viacom.
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March 3, 2008 11:47 AM
by Maya Pope-Chappell
In January, my generation of voters took a break from the distractive amenities of camera phones, myspace, and YouTube, to cast their vote during the primary elections here in California. As a 24 year-old who has only been able to vote in one other presidential election, I walked into the polling place near my home in Oakland on Super Tuesday eager to cast my vote for Barack Obama. Not because he's a Black man, although that is an added plus both personally and historically, but because he brings hope and commitment to change needed in America.
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March 3, 2008 11:30 AM
By Pendarvis Harshaw
I've been thinking about the connection between the consumption of fast food and the consumption of political information. It seems these days, we consume both rather greedily with little time to think about the consequences of this consumption. How does it shape our waistlines as well as our perspectives? Whether its political spin or happy meals, when does consumption consume? More...
February 19, 2008 10:43 AM
by Maya Pope-Chappell
It's OK to choose whichever presidential candidate you please, but it's not OK to not support Obama if your reasons are as follows:
1. "America is not ready for a Black President"
2. "He'll be killed!"
3. "The Clinton's did a lot for Blacks and we want them back!"
These reasons represent a fear-based mentality rooted in backward thinking, underestimation, and excuses that ultimately sell ourselves short.
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January 17, 2008 7:25 PM
By Cheo Tyehimba
Bob Johnson, founder of B.E.T., made news recently when, showing his undying loyalty to Hilary Clinton during an introductory speech, he played to the type of white fears and negative stereotypes of black males by making a thinly-veiled remark that implied that Senator Barack Obama was a drug dealer. This, not from Bill O'Rielly, but from our first black billionaire, the biggest sell out since Stepin Fetchit.
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January 13, 2008 12:12 PM
By Cheo Tyehimba
There's a showdown a-coming and it's so much bigger than an election to determine the next democratic nominee for president of the United States. It could very well provide a good barometer of complex social issues revolving around race and gender in the United States. To really understand it, we have to go back. More than a decade ago, before anyone had heard the name Barack Obama, a shrewd governor from Arkansas named Bill Clinton appeared on the national scene. He immediately realized he had something uniquely different than the other candidates vying to be the democratic nominee for president in 1992. Bill liked black people.
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