SMOP
Every Summer Radio Rootz partners with community organizations bridging media and community activism in New York City and Washington DC.
This two-month radio documentary project brings Rootz youth together with youth reps of community organizations to exchange skills and create media for social change.
Through a truly youth led project, Interns learn core radio production skills, and how these skills can be used to create community organizing tools from their peers. Rootz Graduates, who have been trained through the Youth Leadership Training Institute, lead the project as Peer Trainers and Executive Producers. While all the youth gain a hands on experience of radio production and organizing, each partner organization gains a documentary that directly supports their communities and their work.
The community organizations are also equipped with a new set of skills, through their youth representatives, so each one can integrate media production and media activism principles into their organizing after the summer intensive collaboration ends.
In the summer of 2007, Radio Rootz partnered with South Asian Youth Action (SAYA), Adelante Alliance, Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC) and Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) to create youth documentaries. The documentaries are being used to support the organizing campaigns led by the SMOP partners.
Hate Crimes in the South Asian Comunity
Radio Rootz: Jaleel Huntly, Sidra Khatkaty, Ashleigh Rampersad, Nathaniel Robinson Radio Rootz investigates a recent sad incident that occurred in a high school in Elmhurst, Queens, where a Sikh student had his hair cut off by a Muslim school mate. Radio Rootz journalists investigate the root of the problem and find alarming conclusions about attacks against Sikh students in public schools.
What is Adelante Alliance?
Radio Rootz's Michelle Santamaria, Leslie Gonzaga, Manny Diaz, Mariela Estevez, & Jonathan DeJesus explore the lives of immigrant communities of Sunset Park Brooklyn, New York. We can immagine the difficulties one faces when he or she has no knowledge of the language that surrounds them. These Rootz youth later discover that there is help readily available within the community.
¿Que es Adelante Alliance?
Michelle Santamaria, Leslie Gonzaga, Manny Diaz, Mariela Estevez, & Jonathan DeJesus de Radio Rootz exploran la vida de la jente en la comunidad de inmigrantes viviendo en Sunset Park , Brooklyn, Nueva York. Imagínese las dificultades que uno encuentra cuando el o ella no sabe el idioma que los envueleve. Los jovenes de Radio Rootz descubren que sí hay ayuda disponible en la comunidad.
Challenges Faced by Undocumented South Asian Youth
Radio Rootz's Kristal Graham, MD Samir Khan, Rataysha Lavender, Katia Reyes and Saima Tayeb, took an in depth look at the life of a Pakistani teenager as her family was tossed from place to place to avoid being targeted after 9 -11. The Rootz journalists uncovered heart wrenching stories about the family's journey as they struggled to become documented, and how DRUM's involvement avoided them from being deported.
Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Radio Rootz reporters from Vanguard High School, Irene Martes and Beatriz de Jesus, recently traveled to Cambodia to cover the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. They created the following radio documentary. Take the time to listen, its definitely worth it and you might even learn something new!
Gun violence impacts most teens living in Washington, D.C. The daily headlines remind us how vulnerable we are especially those of us who are teens. And because of that, when adults try to protect us, they end up mostly taking away some of the things that make being a teenager not only fun but also important for our development. In the summer of 2007, Radio Rootz held its first Summer Internship Program. 4 high school students from DC and Maryland came together to produce youth radio pieces about some of the root causes of gun violence and how it affects their lives. Check them out!
