Speaking Out!

Speaking Out! in East Chattanooga has been exciting! Being a resident here myself for the past six years, I’ve watched this community go from a worn out Glass Street to the place to be! The past couple of weeks my friends from ChattState and I have taken the opportunity to network in an extra way – through filming a talkshow – to speak out about the issues that affect us here.

 The response has been amazing! What started as a dream in my little in-home tv studio grew by request into an event at a larger community space. So this past Tuesday we moved to Rebekah Mawuko’s Moving Forward Dance Studio! The youth kept coming in the door, and we had to push back the cameras to make room! They shared from the heart, faces we’d never seen before, representing streets all around Glass Street. There were tears and hugs afterwards. One volunteer had goose bumps that wouldn’t go away. We knew we had been blessed, and that a door had truly been opened for people to share.

Since we’ve moved really quick, we’re thinking about filming our third event in a couple of weeks. We also want to get the word out more. Nakara Jackson placed flyers all over the neighborhood, and John Chris, master-storyteller, did an amazing job hosting all these youth-voices! Chelita Dos also hosted and added a special flavor to the discussion. Gail Mitchell and Andre Robinson empowered us in coordinating and filming as well. All in all it was a TEAM effort, just average people wanting to come together, Speaking Out!

Post Written by: Dale Grisso, Resident of Davenport Street and Good Neighbor Network Member

LINKS:

Speaking Out! in East Chatt – 1st Event – 5/22/2014 – Video Links:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyjWRsf-ukw

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CVmFmcUZ3I

John Chris & Rebekah Mawuko: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKapXujjzpg

Speaking Out! in East Chatt – 2nd Event – 5/27/2014 – Video Links:

Youth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q07zk-vtE7k

Young Men: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMY90q78ogs

Also, view the Speaking Out! Group on Facebook for videos and photos.