I've come to the conclusion that I want to be a journalist. Journalism is, what many say, the fourth branch of government. Journalism is supposed to hold the government accountable on behalf of its people, that's what it was designed to do. That’s why freedom of the press stands side by side with freedom of speech in our first amendment rights. If you cannot speak freely or critique the government then you do not live in a democracy.
I want to do a lot of things in the realm of journalism, lol. One source of inspiration is Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City--she has her own column, albeit it’s a sex column so not what I’m interested in, but I want to have my own column in a news publication one day. Another inspiration is the one and only Khadijah James from Living Single. She runs a magazine called Flavor which is all about everyday Black culture. I would love to work at a magazine publication as editor-in-chief one day. It's honestly a big dream of mine.
I told a friend, and maybe even wrote this on the blog, that I want kmworded to feel tangible. Right now it feels so..intangible. Meaning, I need it to feel like I can touch it, hold it, feel real.
That’s where the tangibleness comes in--magazines, in their prime, were physical. While many publications have moved to solely digital, I believe that there will be a resurgence in print media. This is a subject for my next post, but I think my generation (00s-04s) is starting to realize the importance in tangible things. We saw it with the rise of vinyl records, and now we're back to printing out photos from our digital cameras to put in photo albums. With this nostalgia for the early 2000s, it isn't hard to predict that magazines will make a comeback.
I believe that magazines can be agents of social change. Magazines are a perfect combination of entertainment and education when done correctly. People are interested in seeing faces, especially ones that reflect their own, that’s how you get them to care about a story. Magazines combine the narrative and the aesthetic while also combining interviews, research, and real life shit, like social issues. My lane of achieving social justice is through art and communication and magazines are the perfect way for me to execute that.
Magazines impact the culture. Look at the interview Elle Magazine did with Megan thee Stallion after her shooting, this interview spoke to abuse against Black women. I used this interview in an essay about environmental justice activism. The Cut interviewed Meghan Markle and gave her the opportunity to speak about her experience after the racism and vitriol she experienced from the UK crown and public. Magazine interviews give a voice to those who have been silenced, and while that is usually done for public figures, I think it would be beautiful if it was done for activists or survivalist--community members who fight because they have to. Not to have them assume the role of public figures, but to platform those doing the work in a beautiful way.
Magazine or digital journalism is about storytelling. I took a course called Investigative Journalism with a Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist as our professor. The most hard-hitting investigative journalism pieces invested in a narrative storytelling element alongside the expository information. News must have a story. The word “story” is ingrained in journalism lingo, and the thing about a story is that a story is a true telling of events that reveals a larger message. I love that! Magazines tell stories through visual imagery and interviews.
The environmental justice movement is colored with faces and stories. People look away because it feels political, but environmental justice is an everyday story and you may not realize you’re hearing an EJ story when you hear one. Aside from highlighting the pollutants ailing environmental justice communities, a major part of environmental justice is reaffirming the beauty of these communities. Corporations profit off of the belief that these places are sacrifice zones. That there is no important life in these predominantly low-income Black and brown communities.
What I love about magazines and editorial photoshoots is that they have the power to highlight the beauty in the everyday Blackness. If you want an example of this I suggest you check out Jasiah Powers (@jasiahpowers) on IG. He is a 20 year old photographer from Broolyn, NY. His work centers Black creativity and is truly breathtaking. Throughout all of it he reinforces the importance of community. It’s exactly the kind of lens I want to display Blackness in alongside interviews and writing.
If I had a magazine it would be about Black futures and reclamation--”reasserting a right”. We have the right to a future, we have the right to exist in our communities, and we have the right to demand better. I would like to capture the beauty in everyday life for Black people. The magazine would be rooted in Blackness and its relation to the environment, but again, the environment is not just nature. It’s where we live, work, and play. I see so many pictures on Pinterest and Instagram of Black people photographed just existing in their neighborhoods. It wouldn’t be about trying to ascribe to this notion of Black excellence, or proving that Black people are important. It would be about documenting Black life in its everyday form living where we live, and showing that while our home may present barriers for us, there is also beauty and culture that can be found in our communities.
Another example is this photo from the photo book Devil's Pool by Sarah Kaufman, a spot in Philly that is home to an open body of water--which is rare in an urban environment. Visuals and audio are so integral to strong journalism.
I love this photo because it shows Black people in the environment. We are sequestered to urban environments and decided access to the natural world, and at times, deny ourselves because of understandable previous trauma with the land. This photo is beautiful because these are city kids chilling in the forest. It's a perfect blending of the city and the outdoors. Maybe I'm reading into it, but I love it.
I see so much for myself in the media, journalism, and communications realm of all things environmental justice. Like Beyoncé displayed on her Renaissance tour, “whoever controls the media controls the mind.” While I don’t wanna control anyone's mind and this is quite sinister, it illuminates the power that the media has over our society. I believe that when you put true, honest, stories to the front of the media we can have so much power to change.
I cannot wait to curate a magazine one day.
All in all, I am going to take my writing seriously now. I have always taken it seriously, but to be real with you I never imagined a world where I allowed myself to center my career around writing. You’re not supposed to because it doesn’t make money. But it’s what I wanna do, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m allowing myself to do that now. I’m allowing myself to dream and put action towards my dreams. I hope that in the meantime this allows kmworded to evolve.
Okay that's all I had. If you ever want to talk about magazines please do not hesitate to ask, I would love to nerd out about it. Thanks so much for reading.
Love,
Kayla
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