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Behind the Scenes with Gerald Ward II, one of the producers of Oakland Scenes
Interview conducted by Lauren Dee
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Listen to an interview with Third Coast project assistant Lauren
Dee and Gerald Ward II. The transcript for this audio appears below.
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Lauren Dee: Hello, I'm Lauren Dee with the Third Coast
International Audio Festival. I'm speaking with Gerald Ward II — a.k.a. "Whiz"
— the Broadcast Training Director at Youth Radio and a cinema student at San
Francisco State. He started producing for Youth radio in 1996 after, as a
17-year-old hip hop artist, he found himself a guest on a Youth Radio show and
asked how it was that the young people who were interviewing him had their own
radio program and how he could get involved.
Today, we're talking about the events in Oakland, California that inspired a
documentary Whiz co-produced with other Youth Radio producers called Oakland
Scenes: Snapshots of a Community.
So Whiz, what was happening in Oakland that inspired Oakland Scenes?
Gerald Ward II: Well, last year in Oakland we had a really
high murder rate — an extremely high murder rate — there was a lot going on and
it seemed that every week someone was passing away ... was getting killed by
violence. And a lot of people were affected by it — a lot of young people were
affected by it. On the regular, it seemed that it was really, really young
people. Of course the young people at Youth Radio were being affected by it. I
myself know someone who was lost last year, as well as other young people who
have come through the program. Since we function in violence prevention, we
wanted to make sure that we were able to express that through one of the pieces
that we put out.... We wanted the opportunity to do that.
Also, to give another alternate view of what was going on in Oakland at the
time because a lot of the news coverage at the time was very static, full of
statistics of how many people had died. It was almost as if it were keeping
score. Like you were watching a game and keeping score. So we really wanted to
produce something that was contrary to that, something that portrayed the lives
of people who were living in Oakland and the kinds of things that they face.
That included the poem, the story of Rome and Net Net, the story of a young
person trying to get their education in that sort of environment, what a parent
feels about being in that kind of environment, and then about two young people
actually meeting for the first time and actually falling in love for the first
time. Things like that, so....
LD: Yeah, the thing that was so interesting and ear-catching
to me about this piece was that it wasn't just the straightforward documentary.
It really had something else to it — the poem. Why did you decide to use the
poem?
GW: I have to give credit to Lissa for that one, one of our
producers here. She knew of the poet, she had heard the poet, and the poet had
gotten some really great responses to the poem. And it really fit with the
theme of what we were talking about.
What I love about the fact that the poem was included is that we were talking
about violence and we were talking about stories of Oakland but also there is
another story of Oakland, other things that are going on. There are other
issues that need to be addressed. So it kind of deepens the range of issues
that are taking place in Oakland. It deepens the range of issues that are
taking place not only in Oakland, but with young people in general.
LD: Right, and it is also a universalizing thing. When you
hear it, you recognize that it is such an old story, it's set up that way
but....
GW: Yes. Yes ... you have the opportunity to invite in
listeners who wouldn't, you know, usually be interested in a static documentary
about violence or about scenes of Oakland or something like that.
LD: What is the most exciting thing you think is going on with
youth radio today?
GW: The most exciting thing, I think, is the fact that more
and more it's being recognized that the arts and programs like Youth Radio are
really great at youth development. I would say that is one of the joys that I
get out of being here to help young people. There is a distinction between an
organization to have young people be heard and having an organization that
helps young people. The fact that these means will be taken to be able to help
young people express themselves and also help them in terms of their health, in
terms of violence prevention, in terms of just being able to provide a good
atmosphere for them, I think that's extremely great. Even here at youth radio
for instance, we take the opportunity to stress that it's the young person who
comes first, sometimes even before the pieces that we produce. If [Oakland
Scenes] had been something that had been too traumatizing for me to talk about,
then I can guarantee that I wouldn't have been made to talk about it.
LD: What do you think youth bring to storytelling?
GW: I think they bring a fresh perspective and an opportunity
for people who are older to remember some of the things they faced. I think
that it's very important for members of society who are older to think about
how hard it was for them when they were younger, just as it is important for
young people to realize that there is an older person in front of them with
lessons that they should learn from. They should use that, not just see it as
age. They should see that a person has survived through a lot of things,
especially things that youths may be going through right now.
Young people really drive so much of what goes on in society. Right now we're
in the midst of a war and a war wouldn't happen without young people, there
would not be a military without young people, there would not be entertainment
without young people, young people drive pretty much everything.
LD: What do think is driving young people these days? What are
the young people at youth radio drawing from and being inspired by?
GW: Young people? Young people are inspired by what they do
not know. They really want the opportunity to learn what they do not know. And
if the opportunity is presented to them in the correct way, i.e. informing them
that they have the opportunity to do what ever they want as long as it is in a
positive vain, then that inspires a lot of young people to say "yeah, I want
something different." Because a lot of young people want something different
than what their life is offering them, they just don't know how to go about
getting it. As long as there are organizations like Youth Radio and other
organizations around the country to be able to present that to them in a
positive form, to help them express things that will lead to them being
positive contributors to society, then I think young people will always be
driven to take that opportunity.
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