Liberty City is the perfect place to be. To create a newspaper based on this city it’s going to be a mutual benefit, from which we, journalism students, are going to gain real life experience on our field and at the same time we are giving back to a community that needs more voices to change its future.
This project or better defined as journey is not new to me. Since last semester Professor Reisner introduced the majority of us to this idea and we bought it. He not only threatened to teach us organizational skills, but also show us a preview of what being a journalist means. The spark of responsibility and need to be active caught fire.
At this point, where I’m still struggling writing good leads, where I have so many questions and doubts on how to be a good journalist and how to approach people and develop my ideas, I come to realize that the answer is not in words but in experience. But it’s intimidating. Beyond the fact that Liberty City is consider one of the most violent cities, the most difficult and at the same time the most exiting part for me it’s to get involved with a community that I barely know, to gain their trust and of course, not let them down.
The Martin Luther King Parade was my first experience in Liberty City. It was a good day not only because of the good spring weather, but also because EVERYONE was willing to speak. Whatever the question was, there was an answer and even a conversation.
“ There is change in attitude,” said Dr. Spice, a Jamaican who owns a restaurant in Liberty City about the response of his community toward the election of Barack Obama. “No looking down no more.”
(More on MLK Parade on next post)
