This year’s honorees are: Sister Ollie McClean; Sister Viola Plummer; and, Brother Alfred Porter, Sr., educator and philanthropist.
Guerrilla Journalism 101 Celebrates 3rd Year Anniversary
Why are you always complaining about CNN, The New York Post, The Daily News, and The New York Times?
What excuse do you have not to report and tell your own story? Does anyone else know your neighborhood better than you do?
Who will write about the City’s neglect of your neighborhood? Who will document the tyranny of stop-and-frisk? What about those police tickets that are disproportionately written in your neighborhood?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could become a journalist and write these stories you see everyday? Do you want to learn how to report and write your own story?
Well come join members of Guerrilla Journalism 101 as the class celebrates its third year anniversary and Black History Month at International Sankofa Academy, located at 1670 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11213, on February 23, 2013, from 7PM to 11PM. The nearest train station is the Utica Avenue stop on the C and A train lines; or take the Fulton Street B25 Bus to Schenectady Avenue.
Keynote speaker Les Payne, Pulitzer-prize winning reporter and former Newsday editor, will discuss the importance of community-based journalism.
This year’s Guerrilla Journalism Black History Month honorees are: Sister Ollie McClean, tireless educator, activist, and executive director of International Sankofa Academy, an African-centric educational institution in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy section; Sister Viola Plummer, an activist, freedom fighter, Pan-African and a shining light of The December 12 Movement; and, Brother Alfred Porter, Sr., educator and philanthropist.
Other expected guests are: Attorney Colin Moore; Rev. Herbert Oliver; and, Dr. Oluyemi O. Badero, noted cardiac specialist.
The February 23 evening’s musical entertainment will be provided by the songstress Azania who has a magical voice. There will also be refreshments.
The suggested donation is $20 and the Guerrilla Journalism class members welcome any additional contributions at the event as they are preparing to launch their own publication — The Drumbeat.
During the Black History Celebration and Awards this coming Saturday, the Guerrilla Journalism class members will share with you some of the reporting skills they’ve learned, the importance of community-based journalism, and they’ll also update you on some stories they’re working on. They’ll tell you how you too can tell your own story.
Sister McClean, who regularly appeared on the late Gil Noble’s “Like It Is,” program to speak about culturally-centered and historically-connected education, is also the host of Guerrilla Journalism at the Sankofa Academy location.Come hear young students from Sister McClean’s Sankofa Academy impress you with the kind of knowledge that should also be spread in public and private schools throughout New York City and the rest of the country.
Sister McClean opened the doors of Sankofa Academy over two years ago for Guerrilla Journalism’s free weekly workshop, every Monday from 6PM to 9PM. “I believe everyone should have the basic skills of reporting, story-telling and writing,” says Milton Allimadi, publisher of The Black Star News, who is also the founder of Guerrilla Journalism 101 and the weekly presenter.
He teaches on a volunteer basis.He adds: “We may not have the resources of CNN or The New York Times, but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t share some of the reporting and writing skills we’ve learned. In our workshop, we challenge some of the stereotypes, news spins, and hidden agenda in corporate media. We also tell the stories of the 47-percenters often ignored by corporate media.”
Allimadi was trained at The Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia. He started his journalism career as an intern at The Journal of Commerce and The Wall Street Journal. He was later a freelance reporter for The New York Times before joining The City Sun. He later launched The Black Star News with seed funding from Bill and Camille Cosby. 
He is also the author of “The Hearts of Darkness, How White Writers Created the Racist Image of Africa.” Allimadi launched Guerrilla Journalism 101 for a few weeks in Harlem about three years ago before relocating to True South Bookstore, in Brooklyn. The free weekly workshop is now held at International Sankofa Academy, every Monday evening from 6PM to 9PM.
Attendees discuss the previous week’s major news events, critique and analyze articles from various publications, and read from their own articles-in-progress. The Guerrilla Journalism 101 members will launch a publication, The Drumbeat, in March 2013.
Anyone with a potential story of significance that has been ignored by the corporate media can call Guerrilla Journalism 101 at (718) 670-3236 or send an email message to [email protected]
Tickets for the event will be available at the door on the day of the event.
“Speaking Truth To Empower.”
