BEHIND THE SCENES with Gerald Ward II, co-producer of Oakland Scenes

What was happening in Oakland that inspired Oakland Scenes

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

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

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.

**** What is the most exciting thing you think is going on with youth radio today

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.

What do you think youth bring to storytelling

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.

What do think is driving young people these days? What are the young people at Youth Radio drawing from and being inspired by

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 whatever they want as long as it is in a positive vein, 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.