In this special Black History Month podcast, VOX ATL’s Corey asks teens which Black history figures inspire them the most and why. The figures range from legendary writers like Maya Angelou and James Baldwin to personal heroes like great-grandmothers.
Listen now and celebrate Black history with us!
Music Credit: Acid Jazz Hip Hop Lounge By Dagored VIA Envato
Transcript
Corey P., 13: Hello, everybody. This is VOX ATL and Black History Month is almost over, so we wanted to ask teens which Black history figure inspires them the most and why.
Skye W., 17: OK, so mine isn’t really a historical figure, but my great-grandmother really inspires me.
She is the absolute sweetest and nicest person that I’ve ever known. And I believe that she has two master’s degrees, which is rare for someone 86, so yeah, she’s the most inspiring person to me.
Corey: Do you know what she got a degree in?
Skye: I believe it was a Master’s in Education, and then another one [was like a] Master’s in Science or something.
Leah S., 18: I would definitely say Maya Angelou inspires me the most. I think she’s incredibly brave, and the way she was courageous enough to write and express herself is not only groundbreaking, but it paved the way for people who look like us to be writers and poets and journalists and artists. And I think that she’s the reason why I feel brave enough to do what I do every day.
Mikayla J., 17: I would have to say James Baldwin because of how poetic his writing was and also how bold his writing was for the time period he was in — especially with his talks about sexuality and racial issues.
Isaiah J., 18: So he’s not really from history, because he’s still making music, but Tyler, the Creator. He’s just always really inspired me. To learn how to make music, just the techniques he used were always so, interesting to me, and also just how he just did whatever he wanted music-wise and didn’t let any guidelines stop him from creating what he wanted.
Lexi M., 16: The “most” is a really high bar. I don’t know about the most, but just one that comes to mind is because, well, I’ve been reading her book, “Crick Crack,” recently, and I really love how she — I really love her writing and how she talks a lot about mother-daughter relationships and her ancestry through the maternal line. And how she connects her characters across time and across space.
The post VOX BUBBLE: Atlanta Teens Talk Black History appeared first on VOX ATL.
