Cross-posted from The Root Written by Richard Prince
A 27-year-old African American reporter who committed herself to covering the blackest, most neglected portion of the District of Columbia was shot to death Wednesday night when, police said, she was used as a human shield in an exchange of gunfire by two groups of dirt bike riders.
Charnice Milton, who lived east of the Anacostia River, the area she covered, was a contributor to Capital Community News and a graduate of Ball State and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She was shot as she walked on one of the area’s major streets to transfer buses. Milton had covered the monthly meeting of a community advisory committee.
” ‘At 9:28, she texted me and said, “I’m on my way home,” ‘ the victim’s mother, Francine Milton, said,” Derrick Ward and Andrea Swalec reported Friday for Washington’s WRC-TV, the NBC-owned and -operated station. ‘So, I was waiting for her to text me back and let me know if she needed me to pick her up, if she needed us, where she was. And we never got that text last night.’ . . .” Their daughter was rushed to a hospital, where she died.
“Her editor, Andrew Lightman, the managing editor of Capital Community News, noted that Milton was one of the few people in the city doing that grassroots level reporting in the east of the river communities. Her loss, he said, will be felt in those stories that will no longer get covered.
” ‘Not only did they gun down a young woman, they also silenced one of our reporters,’ Lightman said. ‘I think it’s a real loss not only for us and her family but also the communities that she covered . . . She was one of a handful of reporters across the District who was looking at the nuts and bolts of everyday life.’ . . . ”
“She loved to cover the area east of the Anacostia where she grew up.
” ‘She could have worked at any news media organization she wanted to,’ said her father Ken McClenton. ‘She had the credentials, she had the expertise, she had the knowledge, but she sacrificed and she stayed and wrote in Ward 8.’
” ‘Everyone says the same thing, that she was just a beautiful young lady,’ said Francine Milton, the victim’s mother. ‘And she loved to write, and she loved people. And most of all she loved God.’ . . .”
” ‘We want to know,’ said Bowser. ‘We know that people were in and around the area. We have gotten very little information and we need the public to provide that information so Charnice’s killer can be captured.’ . . .”
BloomScreen and DC Moving Pictures present a collection of experimental short films created in response to recent cases of police misconduct and the resulting protests and civil unrest…
In recent weeks, protesters have marched against police violence in cities from New York to Boston as troops stood by in Baltimore to enforce a curfew imposed after civil unrest over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. The tragedy in Baltimore is just the latest in a proliferation of high-profile police violence cases that have occurred over the last three years.
Since 2014, filmmaker Can Tuzcu and other independent filmmakers have created a number of avant-garde documentary short films that engage current political events and provide a militant call to action – to end police violence! We will screen and discuss four of these short films. (Parental Advisory: Some videos reference police violence and are not suitable for all ages).
The screening will be followed by audience discussion and Q&A with filmmaker Can Tuzcu, and Chris Rue, of DC Moving Pictures – a movie screening project dedicated to showcasing great movies and great filmmakers at local spaces in and around the District.
*Suggested Donation: $10. Proceeds support BloomBars. Free organic popcorn.
BloomScreen Indie Film Night is a weekly series of independent and foreign films, accompanied by discussions with filmmakers, experts and other guests.
Cross-Posted from Media Matters written by Brian PowellL & Libby Watson video credit Benjamin Hancock
Kwame Rose, the Baltimore resident who confronted Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera over media’s biased coverage of the city, responded to Rivera’s personal on-air attacks in an interview with Media Matters. Rose reacted to video of his interaction with Rivera going viral, discussed the media landscape in Baltimore, and highlighted racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
National media has swarmed to cover the Baltimore protesters who have taken to the streets to voice concerns about the criminal justice system following the shocking death of Freddie Gray, a young Baltimore resident whose spine was fatally severed while in police custody. Fox’s Rivera was among those pundits reporting on the protests when Rose confronted the Fox personality and expressed frustration that the network failed to spotlight Gray’s death in favor of hyping the unrest that ensued, an exchange that quickly found a large audience online.
Rivera later used his platform on Fox News to bash Rose as a “vandal,” “annoying,” and an “obstructionist” on-air. He accused Rose of displaying “exactly that kind of youthful anarchy that led to the destruction and pain in that community.”
Rose has responded to Geraldo and to the video’s popularity, in an email exchange with Media Matters.
“I want people to know that this issue is bigger than some clip of me, it’s about Black Lives,” said Rose, after emphasizing that being featured in a viral video was never his intention. His frustration lies with establishment media and its depictions of Baltimore in the wake of the unrest.
“I have been out protesting for almost two weeks now without being on one camera,” Rose explained. “After Monday night when the media started pouring in, I sat at work and watched how the media basically forced people to believe that Baltimore was some Third World city. I just wanted to set the record straight and let it be known that this generation refuses to be misinterpreted.”
Rose noted how the media paid attention to the violence in Baltimore, but failed to cover the community’s efforts to unite and clean up the city.
“I sat and watched the media set up their camps in front of boarded up homes … while we were cleaning up the streets as one community. The cameras weren’t rolling, nobody cared. Outside agitators such as Fox News came onto the scene trying to exploit the situation. I don’t care about the people watching Fox News, but I will not let you report lies about the people of this city.”
Rose appeared largely dismissive of Geraldo and his personal attacks. He explained that in the minutes before the interaction captured on video, Geraldo was “walking around taking selfies and telling jokes.”
“When I approached him he continuously kept trying to avoid any intellectual conversation,” said Rose.
“Geraldo is like the majority of America,” Rose continued. “He fears a Black man so much that he [would] rather try to instigate a fight than to engage in a conversation. If you’ve seen the full clip of the video you’d know that his verbal assaults were a waste of breath.”
Rose also addressed the tendency of conservative media to deflect from stories about police brutality in favor of discussions of black-on-black crime, even though they “are incomparable subjects.”
To promote social change through the use of art and media.
The above audio is an interview of New Lens, recorded for This Light Sounds for Social Change, a Washington, D.C. based radio series featuring activist artists from across the globe.
New Lens is a youth driven social justice organization working to assist youth in making art and media about often-underrepresented perspectives. The work is used to address systemic problems, facilitate dialogue, shift perspectives and stimulate action. New Lens believes that a youth perspective can inspire change. U should love us because… WE SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY
This interview features Executive Director Rebecca Yenawine and youth leader Chelsea. For more information go to http://www.newlens.info/
The participants of Bread for the City’s first ever media training included several BFC clients: A graduate of BFC’s Pre-Employment Program (PEP), a returning citizen, one former and two current BFC Client Advisory Board members, and two residents of the Potomac Gardens public housing complex.
The first three sessions were held in Bread for the City’s SE Center and dedicated to:
Gaining a better understanding of what a powerful tool the media plays in perpetuating racism and oppressive stereotypes
Understanding how the media helps to perpetuate the cycle of oppression
Strategizing how to make media production skills available to the people who are most affected by oppression and stereotypes in the media
The last three sessions were held at the Potomac Gardens public housing complex and dedicated to:
Teaching the technical skills of videotaping and editing using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premier Elements 11 software
Discovering creative ways to use cellphones as media tools
In today’s world of ever evolving technology, it’s exciting that those most affected by poverty are steadily gaining more control over how their stories are told. They are also being given the tools to share their stories with a wide audience. We plan to begin another session in April 2014.
Remember- we can be the change we want to see!
Below are two of the videos produced in the class. The first is a testimonial by William McIntyre who was a smart kid. He graduated from high school and everybody thought he was going to be just as big a man in the world as he was a big man on campus. But six months later he’s still working at McDonalds. What happened next? Watch and find out.
The second is of Ms. Brown who spoke to her daughter about life in the District of Columbia throughout the years. Ms. Brown, being born in 1931, had a lot to share. This 10 minute video is just a start.
Charnice Milton, who lived east of the Anacostia River, the area she covered, was a contributor to Capital Community News and a graduate of Ball State and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She was shot as she walked on one of the area’s major streets to transfer buses. Milton had covered the monthly meeting of a community advisory committee.
Follow Richard Prince on Twitter.
