Magic Johnson, a former American basketball player, was recently available for an interview with a 17-year-old student in Washington, D.C. Consequently, Magic made the offer to cover the entire cost of the student’s college education. Jordan Williams attends the public Bard High School Early College in Washington, D.C. The youngster participates in the Parks and Recreation Department of D.C.’s Deanwood Radio Broadcast Youth Journalism Program. Jordan, a participant in the Deanwood media program, went to The Boy’s and Girl’s Club news conference to speak with Magic Johnson, a co-owner of the Washington Commanders football team in the city.
Jordan questioned Magic, who was surrounded by professional media, about why he wanted to visit a youth club in Washington, D.C. Magic replied that he “wanted to make a difference.” And he meant it. On the spot, he offered Jordan a full scholarship. “You never know who’s in the room,” said Jordan. Nobody can be sure who is observing. You can never be sure who is hearing. Magic Johnson was so impressed by my ability to ask that question and the response I received that people heard that I was awarded a scholarship. Jordan and Salih Williams, the director of the media program (who is unrelated to Jordan) were recently interviewed by VOA Learning English.
In order to solve what he refers to as a “language barrier” between teenagers in Wards 7 and 8 of the city and local media, Williams founded the Deanwood initiative. Those wards have greater rates of crime than others. “I saw the need of fostering young voices. Thus, at first, it was only to help students with communication skills development while simultaneously engaging them with news. because it seemed to me frequently that the only occasions when residents of Wards 7 and 8 interacted with media representatives were during tragedies or fatalities.
The curriculum teaches students how to interact with the news media as well as study, communicate, and conduct interviews. Every year, the students finish 30 to 40 interviews. Williams claims that these abilities will benefit the students regardless of whether they want to pursue a career in journalism or not. Additionally, the program is now a springboard for college. 38 of the program’s participants have attended college since it started in 2016—23 of them with full scholarships.
One of the program’s graduates is Ayonlah Carter.
It seems to provide us the chance to simply speak our ideas or to kind of express who we are. Furthermore, this is a category that includes Black and Brown children in a larger sense. That is significant in and of itself. Thus, it’s good to be in an encouraging environment. However, we also seem to be having an impact. And I predict that there will be a significant increase in Black journalists or just people in the media in ten, fifteen, or more years.
The community of students is, in her opinion, one of the program’s best features. They have now “found family,” according to her, and they watch out for one another. “I believe that we all simply reach out and watch out for one another. And in my opinion, that’s what matters most. It’s true that some of us come from less than ideal backgrounds. However, we continue to support and encourage one another when we can. According to Ayonlah, her mother passed away when she was just ten years old. She added that she had to leave her family when she was 17 because things had changed so drastically. She was unsure of her next course of action. She claimed that Salih Williams, the founder of the media program, gave her a purpose in life.
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