Why we need more voices to speak the unspeakable.
My Community Radio Storytelling Fellowship with Making Contact (MC) has come to an end and I’m confident that my voice has been heard! I am happy to have had the opportunity to be one of the first cohort of fellows to participate in what was both a challenging and engaging project, which I want to dedicate to Kimberly Robertson (may she forever rest in peace) and to all of the black female (including transwomen)...
Alice Wong investigates interdependence between the disability and caregiver communities
I am a disabled person who uses personal assistance for almost every aspect of my activities of daily living. If I did not have paid and unpaid personal assistance (including family members), my life chances and opportunities would look drastically different. Without the usage of Medicaid-funded personal assistance programs such as IHSS (In Home Supportive Services) in California and family support, I know I would have to enter a...
Ingrid Rojas Contreras searches for the forgotten magic in immigrant stories
For all thirteen years as an immigrant I have collected answers to this question: When you traveled over what special item did you bring? A poetry book. A dress. A father’s bow tie. I used to ask this more when I lived in Chicago, where I often found myself in the wee hours of the night waiting for the owl bus, huddling with strangers under the shelter of one heat lamp. I remember a young Mexican bartender who told me a flag and a...
After 31 years in prison, Al Sasser is giving a voice to men still inside
My piece is everything about the relationships fostered while under the most traumatic circumstances of sensory deprivation, political pressure and uncertainty. The reality of human confinement is extremely difficult to describe adequately. However I will endeavor to share the Truth of our existence while we struggled to rise above it. I hope to honor each individual involved with the process of building us up. Encouraging us to...
Help our fellows tell real stories and diversify the media!
In 2014 we created our Community Storytelling Fellowship because media needs to be MORE diverse, MORE relevant and BETTER REFLECT THE COMMUNITIES THEY COVER. Over the course of a year our team worked with 3 vibrant, committed based storytellers. During their 10-week paid immersion in audio storytelling, each fellow turned their personal experiences into 8 minute radio segments-intense, moving stories you won’t hear anywhere else....
Announcing Making Contact’s 2015-16 Community Storytelling Fellows
In keeping with our mission of covering important issues and helping community media makers tell their stories, Making Contact is pleased to announce our 2nd class of Community Storytelling Fellows! Welcome Al Sasser, Alice Wong, Ivan Rodriguez and Ingrid Rojas Contreras! The fellows will work with us through early 2016 and will each produce an 8 minute radio segment in addition to blog posts and online content. This is a paid, 10...
