Challenges at the Office

9-30-2008

For some reason, a bottle of red wine was cracked open right as I was about to go to sleep…how could I say no. So it was split between Chad and I. Good thing I ran yesterday morning because it was not about to happen this morning.

Today at Life FM, I produced three promos for black history month, as it starts tomorrow. It is celebrated throughout October in the UK. My supervisor wanted me to go out into the streets and interview people, asking them about black history month: did they know about it, what they thought about, were they going to celebrate it.

Honestly, this thought frightened me a bit: a skinny blonde white kid walking around the streets of Harlesden asking black people what they think about a month that celebrates their freedom from the white man’s oppression. Not that I was scared I was going to be in danger, just that I’m not a confrontational person, and I was definitely the minority in this area.

Cliché as it is, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Sure I got shot down a few times from people who didn’t like the idea of their voice being on the radio, but once I got one group of young students to talk to me, I was confident to walk up to anyone and ask them what they thought about the upcoming month.

The opinions were varied and interesting. I chatted with two groups of young students as it was just about time for them to be getting out of school. They were the best interviews, enthusiastic and boisterous. They gave me lots to work with as they listed off a list of prominent figures in the human rights movement. A couple I talked to were…well, not bitter, but adamant about it’s significance, and the importance of those who’ve helped to change things. Perhaps she seemed a little perturbed at my ignorance because I was playing the clueless reporter to get her talking. The last group I talked to was perhaps the most interesting. Two guys, seemed of Jamaican / Caribbean decent, started with the same generic “black history month is fantastic!” stuff. However, he got to talking and said something to this effect: “...It’s about the liberation, black people being freed from the chains of slavery, but true liberation hasn’t yet been….do you want me to go there?”

At my urging they both continued, very calmly and in turn so I could record every second. They talked abut how black people are still very much in chains, from climbing corporate ladders to education, he said that black people are to this day not given the same opportunities as white people. Was it weird having someone passionately tell you how ‘your kind’ is keeping him down? A touch, but I listened with an understanding ear. And I couldn’t have agreed with him more when we said, “One month of black history? Nahhh, black history should be all the time.”

Here's the final resutls:

Also I work that day I received tickets to The Duke Spirit. Mike and I went to check them out. They were decent. Not exactly my style of rock, but the venue, The Astoria, was worth the trip at least… and it was better than sitting in my room blogging….no offence.