Spotify took over the Armor J. Blackburn University Center Ballroom on April 16th to host a listening party for its student-produced podcast series, 1619: The College Edition.
This podcast is the result of a partnership between Spotify's NextGen program and Professor Nicole Hannah-Jones' famous “The 1619 Project” course. Spotify provided equipment and podcast production training to 19 students to learn how to edit, produce, and host podcasts. The idea behind the episode came from students looking at how slavery affected their lives and how it connects to modern times.
“What was most important to me about this podcast was the voices of the students, and the themes we covered came from them and they were going to cover them in their own way,” Hannah-Jones said.
Hannah-Jones said she hopes students will feel inspired as they continue to research and analyze their historical readings.
The essays of three students in the 1619 course were made into three episodes. “Drip Principles” describes the origins of modern “drip” culture and black fashion. “Color Theory” delves into the topic of colorism. “Queer Seminar” commemorates O’Shea Sibley, a 28-year-old gay black man, and explores black queer activism from slavery to today.
“I wanted to do this project because I wanted to see how students would interpret the 1619 project,” Hannah-Jones said. “If we looked at it through the lens of a young person, how could we see things differently and think differently? That's my favorite part. A podcast I created” 1619” and when you listen to this, you can see how they both fit together, but at the same time are very different. ”
Christine Jarrett is Head of Equity, Diversity and Impact at Spotify. NextGen has previously partnered with other universities and recently expanded its program to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
“I think it's important to focus on schools where there is a large industry access gap. We know that if we don't tap into that resource, there's a narrative and culture shift that we're going to miss.” said Jarrett.
This collaboration came about because NextGen had taken notice of Howard and wanted to work with a communication student with a background in storytelling.
“We thought it would be really interesting to think about how we could translate that into audio. So when we found out she was teaching a course on 1619, we thought: [Hannah-Jones] I was interested in creating some kind of podcast with my students,” Jarrett said.
“When I reached out to her, she never in a million years would have said yes. She was like, 'I'm in, let's do it.' So we were able to co-design the curriculum and it worked. ”
Jarrett, a Spelman College graduate, was deeply impressed by his students.
“Howard has turned things around in every way, giving us confidence in how far we can push our students. In some cases, we can be a little shy about general training and instruction. Sometimes we can take this on for them, for example, but they have the ability to come in and do the work… We learned that encouraging them to be involved in that is something we've learned. “I think that was one of the biggest lessons,” she said.
A DJ and podcast-themed photo booth will add to the atmosphere for attendees. The event began with an introduction by Howard's “Showtime” marching band and short speeches from Dean Gracie Lawson Borders and President Anthony Wutoh. A panel discussion followed with Hannah-Jones and three student creators: Jacob Smith, Trinity Webster-Bass and Zoe Cummings. Audio clips from the podcast were woven into the discussion.
Spotify also recognized sophomore journalism major Karise Hilton as a 2024 NextGen Scholar. Ms. Hilton received a $10,000 scholarship.
Danilo Lightsell, a junior broadcast journalism major, hosted the final episode of the series. He says participating in the project was an immersive and “life-changing experience.”
“I have gained tools that I will use for the rest of my life.” Trinity spoke about the Interview Masterclass that Professor Jones conducted with all the hosts and producers. “These skills have helped me navigate the conversation perfectly. “It also taught me how to work collaboratively with a diverse team of writers, producers and engineers,” he said.
Lightsell said this is a great way to recognize that hard work is the biggest part of this event.
“Not many people can bring home a podcast with the Spotify stamp on it as their name. It's kind of on my resume,” he said. “It was really great to be able to celebrate with the team and see our hard work come to fruition.”
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
