HELIOLITH

Driving home from work on Friday night I was listening to KPFK 6:00 news, which in part plays Free Speech Radio News. That evening, FSRN ran a special report presented by Azania Al-Shabazz, a 6th grader at Crossroads Middle School in Harlem, New York. I was so in awe of the entire spot I nearly had to stop my car from emotion.

I downloaded the whole half hour from the FSRN page, and with permission from Radio Rootz, have edited the section that Azania did down into one 5′ 20″ track, which you can download as a 2 MB mp3 here.

With Hendrix’ Star Spangled Banner playing as a backdrop, the young reporter begins reading:

On March 19, 2003, the American president declared war with the alliance of the United Kingdom to attack Iraq. This project is going to explore what our families and friends feel about the decisions that George W. Bush has made. This is Azania from Crossroads middle school.

I’m not going to quote any more of the broadcast, because I really want you to download it and listen for yourself.

It occurs to me that our media desperately needs more young voices. There is a truthfulness in this reporter’s voice that is without equal in professional radio and television. For me it was impossible to hear her honesty and to even begin to comprehend the short term vision of our national leadership. The more one contemplates the future generations, the more unfathomable our current course of action becomes.

It becomes so clear that our schools need more programs like this, where according to the Radio Rootz website, kids are given an education in “media literacy, media activism and radio production.” While reading she acknowledges that Bush will probably not actually receive the message that she is broadcasting. Nonetheless, all of us, especially those with the voices to stand up and speak for peace, should hear the voices of the young, like Azania, who speak an incredibly clear message. At the end, Azania also gives credit to Zoe, Guy and David for (I think) helping with the project. If by chance anyone from Radio Rootz or Crossroads reads this and has anything to add, please add it as a comment or contact me and I will make updates.

If you’re interested in hearing more from this group, check out several projects they have online here.

To the kids of Crossroads & Radio Rootz: You all are amazing; keep it up!