Celebrating One Year of Making Change Through Storytelling
by Daniella Lake
The Ethnic Studies Changemaker Scaffolding Stories-Building Communities Project is celebrating one year of having our state-of-the-art podcast studio open for students, faculty, and community partners to use on UC Berkeley’s campus. Our core mission is to amplify the voices and diverse experiences of marginalized communities. This past year, we’ve worked with various classrooms, faculty, campus organizations, and community partners to share their stories, research, and experiences.
What We’ve Been Working On
Mount Diablo High School and Ygnacio Valley High School
Our project with Mount Diablo High School and Ygnacio Valley High School’s Ethnic Studies classrooms, titled “Building the Collective I,” engaged high school students in producing podcasts about the challenges and experiences of youth in California. This project was made possible through a grant from the California Humanities’ California Documentary Project NextGen grant program. The grant program is aimed at youth-focused stories told through films and podcasts. We hosted workshops for students that covered various aspects of podcasting, such as script writing, interviewing, and audio editing. Students created podcasts about systemic racism, food deserts, and more. You can listen to their episodes here.
Berkeley Underground Scholars
Berkeley Underground Scholars supports and creates a pathway for UC Berkeley students that have been impacted by incarceration. Through their recruitment, retention, and advocacy work, they hope to build a prison-to-school pipeline. Episodes of their podcast, “On the Tier,” are recorded at the Ethnic Studies Changemaker Podcast Studio. “On the Tier” shares the experiences of those directly impacted by the carceral state. You can listen to “On the Tier” here.
Social Science Matrix
The UC Berkeley Social Science Matrix is an institute that supports and provides a framework for research by social scientists on campus. Their podcast, “Matrix” features interviews with scholars across campus and they share their recent research and work. At Ethnic Studies Changemaker, we’ve assisted with the recording process for “Matrix.”
Classrooms
At Ethnic Studies Changemaker, we collaborate with professors and students on classroom podcasts and augmented reality projects. We work with classes from various departments, such as Ethnic Studies, Asian American Studies, and Chicanx Latinx Studies. Some of Professor Gonzalez’s classes that created podcast projects include Chicano 174: Chicanos, Law, and Criminal Justice. Listen to an episode from the class here.
We Still Here / Nos Tenemos
The documentary film, We Still Here / Nos Tenemos, “introduces the incredible youth of Comerío, Puerto Rico navigating the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, a disaster that brought an unprecedented level of devastation.” At Ethnic Studies Changemaker, we got the chance to interview the directors, producers, and cast of the film. We got to ask them about the challenges they faced in light of Hurricane Maria, their hopes and dreams for Puerto Rico, and how they went about community organizing and rebuilding their communities.
American Cultures
The American Cultures Center at UC Berkeley gives out an Excellence in Teaching Award annually to distinguished faculty who have taught exemplary American Cultures curriculum. Ethnic Studies Changemaker has provided the space for American Cultures Excellence in Teaching awardees to talk about their curriculum and experience teaching an American Cultures course.
We’re looking forward to continuing some of these projects this year, along with providing the space and resources to share these stories.
What We’re Looking Forward To
Professor Pablo Gonzalez, director of Ethnic Studies Changemaker, was awarded the Berkeley Collegium Grant, a grant which supports faculty projects that create unique opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in research and discovery. Through the support of the Berkeley Collegium, Professor Gonzalez plans to develop a podcast series and an augmented reality project about racial justice, technology, and the racial digital divide. This is just one of the new projects Ethnic Studies Changemaker will be working on this year.
Latinx-Thriving Institution Initiative
The goal of the UC Berkeley Latinx Thriving Initiative is to create an equity-based, inclusive campus where there are a plethora of opportunities for Latinx students, the well-being of Latinx students is advanced, and Latinx and underrepresented students can thrive. In our collaboration with the Latinx-Thriving Institution Initiative, we will provide the space for recording podcast episodes covering various topics relating to the process of UC Berkeley becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution, the experience of Latinx students, and celebrating the contributions of Latinx students, faculty, and staff.
Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative
The Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative (BIMI) is a group of faculty, researchers, and students who investigate immigrant experiences and the way migration transforms societies. We will collaborate with them to create a podcast series featuring different researchers and scholars who work in and study migration.
Black Lives at Cal
Black Lives at Cal (BLAC) is a multi-year research initiative created by the African American Student Development Office and the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues. The goal of BLAC is to research, document, publicize, and celebrate the lives and legacy of Black people on UC Berkeley’s campus. In our collaboration with them, we will provide the space for BLAC to record a self-guided Black History audio tour of UC Berkeley’s campus.
We can’t wait to dive into all these new projects and continue past ones. Stay tuned to listen to future podcast episodes and to learn more about our collaborations. We are able to maintain our studio through generous donations and grants. If you want to help us make change through storytelling, please consider donating to our fund for the studio here!
