Feb 6, 2023
This episode was recorded in 2020, a year that was stressful for most of us, with a lot of debates about politics, racism, police violence, and health and safety. We were dealing with what some were calling protests and others were calling riots throughout the country and certainly in Chicago in the wake of the murder of George Floyd — with everything being emotionally amplified by the effects of being in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We were meeting for our program online for the first time (we used to meet in person). Generally we don’t get too deep into politics on this show and in this season. But as we were talking about what was happening in society that was so present for all of us, there was a strong common point of view that most of our student producers agreed with.
One of our producers, however, felt frustrated that every time we had a round table conversation, his opinion seemed to be the odd one out. Being in the minority opinion in any group can be hard and he felt that every time he tried to share or explain his point of view, he was getting shut down. So he approached me to ask if he could have a chance to share some of those thoughts on the show.
I took it as an opportunity to try to both help him articulate exactly what he was thinking and feeling, and also for me to try to understand his point of view a little better, since I, like most of our producers, didn’t fully understand where he was coming from all the time.
It’s now of course, a few years later, and circumstances, experiences, and opinions may have evolved, but I thought it was important to present views that are representative of the experiences of all of our producers during that time.
This episode isn’t about taking sides — it’s about hearing another person’s experience of what was one of the worst time periods in our lived history.
I invite you to take a listen, think critically about your own values and beliefs, and see what you can relate to in my conversation with Genaro.
~Ms. Klunder, Program Director
Enjoy!
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Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.
Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.
Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.