July 25, 2023
City Neighbors students develop storytelling skills in Backpack Journalism program
What are your favorite places and memories in Baltimore? What concerns you about Baltimore? What is the state of race relations in Baltimore and in America?
Over the last year, 20 students from City Neighbors High School in northeast Baltimore have been exploring these and other questions as journalists, compiling perspectives from those who know the community best: those who live here! They’ve interviewed their peers, neighbors, and family members through the Backpack Journalism program, a partnership with City Neighbors and the Karson Institute for Race, Peace, and Social Justice developed by Loyola University professor Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead.
The results of these explorations were thought provoking examinations on topics that matter to them and those they interviewed, including crime, the beauty in Baltimore, memories of their neighbors, police brutality, and race in America.
Inspiring perspectives are apparent in the students’ work. Said one interviewee, “my whole life is a story about Baltimore.” Another expressed that “it’s important to teach Black History because it’s your history. It helps you understand who you are as a Black person and what you stand up for.”
“Our students deserve to have a voice, one that reaches not only their peers, but folks who may not see them otherwise,” explained City Neighbors Principal Cheyanne Zahrt. “This program gives them the tools they need to express themselves in an appropriate manner that can raise their voices far and wide. I’m seeing students rise to the occasion.”
The program and its incredible impact will continue this coming school year at City Neighbors. Learn more about the Karson Institute Backpack Journalism program and explore students’ work, here.
