WE ARE FREE SPIRIT MEDIA
For four years, the people of East Garfield Park have pushed the city for solutions to the daunting scarcity of healthy food in the neighborhood. On Feb. 26, the city finally agreed to help fund the development of the East Garfield Park Community Eco Orchard.
PODCAST: This week Free Spirit Media was asked to speak on the Teaching in the Arts Podcast!
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FSM News
In partnership with PBS Student Reporting Labs, FSM News South producers, Britney Martin, Justin Patterson, and Marquica Shipp travel to Air Aerial Fitness to learn about how their innovative workout is potentially revolutionizing fitness.
FSM News
In partnership with PBS Student Reporting Labs, FSM News South producers, Amoriana Ballard, Kinyada Craine, Perrione Reed, and Yasmeen Scott travel to Ci3 Game Changer Chicago Design Lab to explore creative and fun ways to raise awareness for sexual and reproductive health.
FSM News
In partnership with PBS Student Reporting Labs, FSM News South producers, Anthony Killick, Jessica Powell, Jamaari Ramirez, and Devon Stephens travel to the Gary Comer Youth Center to explore Green Teens, an innovative program focusing on urban agriculture, food security and green career development for high school teens.
FSM News
In partnership with PBS Student Reporting Labs, FSM News South Reporters, Patricia Joyner, Aaron Noel, Desireé Williams, and Jalen Young spoke with Speech Pathologist, Marylin Sandler about The Snoezelon Room, a multi-sensory environment for children with autism and other sensory needs. Mrs. Sandler led the initiative to create a Snoezelen Room at Stockton Elementary in Chicago.
FSM News
In partnership with PBS Student Reporting Labs, FSM News Anchors, Amariona Ballard and Desireé Williams delve into health innovation.
Real Chi Youth
This video is about New Life, a health food store in North Lawndale.
Real Chi Youth
Over 2,000 inmates were released to Illinois in December 2017 from Cook County Jail. Over 90 percent of those returning citizens are African American, and roughly 20 percent are African-American women. Real Chi Youth Reporter Kwyn Townsend Riley sat down with Colette Payne, a returning citizen in South Shore, who works with the Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM), which is a part of Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA).
Real Chi Youth
On Feb. 19, Real Chi Youth reporters Alloíza Mari and Pascal Savino followed organizers from BYP 100 and Teachers For Social Justice, and students from the National Teachers Academy, among others, as they marched to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s house in Ravenswood to protest the closing of the National Teachers Academy and the phasing out of four Englewood high schools over the next three years.
Real Chi Youth
On Feb. 20, the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH) and sponsors hosted a Title IX townhall at the National Museum of Mexican Art. The event aimed to inform people on Title IX-related protections and allow youth to speak directly to their experiences with the federal law in public schools.
Free Spirit PRO
Five young Peace Builders from Chicago traveled to India in 2017/2018 as part of the Peace Exchange leadership development program. In New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra, they continued their exploration of peace with youth organizations committed to nonviolence and tolerance. This documentary of their trip will be shared with children from their communities.
Free Spirit PRO
Out of Eden Walk, a global journalism project, debuts a Chicago-focused program to ask inhabitants of the city to share their stories with each other and with wider audiences.
Real Chi Youth
On Feb. 28, students, parents, teachers, organizers and concerned community members filled the Chicago Public School’s downtown office as the board was scheduled to take their final vote on the closure of four South Side high schools and an elementary school.
FSM News
In 2017 several important social issues have fallen under the public eye. So for our fall newscast, FSM News West decided to dive into major social issues! In this newscast, we interviewed students about cyberbullying, reported on issues that LGBT students endure, shot a PSA to help educate others about rape and covered issues such as homelessness and abortion.
Real Chi Youth
Chicago’s black and brown neighborhoods are depicted and looked at as dangerous. Lacking work programs, positive resources for the youth and community at large, many outsiders looking in only get a small glimpse of what is really happening.
FSM News
High school can be an exciting time when students discover who they are but some school's don't allow students to express themselves.
FSM News
In this edition of "FSM News Is On," a hero comes to save the day before realizing that FSM news is on.
FSM News
In this FSM South Newscast, reporters Patricia Joyner and Justin Patterson host our Holiday Special. From giving back to exploring what different religions might celebrate during the holiday season, Free Spirit Media looks forward to putting you in the Holiday Spirit!
Real Chi Youth
How a black psychologist is centering black men and their unique needs in his drive for black wellness
FSM News
FSM News Reporter Kinyada Craine travels to Skokie, Il to find out what Jewish people do on Christmas.
FSM News
Produced and acted by the FSM News South Crew, this Public Service Announcement gives you valuable holiday advice sharing the do's & don'ts during Thanksgiving.
FSM News
FSM News Reporter, Desireé Williams, travels to La Casa Norte, Chicago's leading not for profit organization servicing youth and families confronting homelessness, to further explore the true spirit of giving and selflessness during this holiday season.
FSM News
From exploring the Day of the Dead to the history of the Christmas tree, FSM News Reporter, Marquica Shipp, takes us through an insightful journey through the history of the holiday season.
Free Spirit PRO
Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) is the region’s premiere civic leadership development organization. The year-long Signature Fellows Program immerses the most promising leaders from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors in the major socioeconomic issues facing the Greater Chicago area.
Free Spirit PRO
On December 11, Make-Believe Association made its debut with a free staged reading of Thornton Wilder's holiday masterpiece, The Long Christmas Dinner. The diverse cast of great Chicago actors reflected Wilder's vision for the play: a story about one family that's really about all families.
InPathways
Behind the Scenes filming of the InPathways Cohort Training Program 2017 film, Drive Slow.
Free Spirit PRO
What should we expect from public education? How can schools best serve the diverse needs of their students? How do schools reflect their neighborhoods and communities?Continuing Ed. is a yearlong, statewide series of free public programs that put parents and schools back at the center of conversations addressing these difficult questions.
Real Chi Youth
Real Chi Youth's mission statement.
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CPL Red North/West game between North Lawndale College Prep and Orr Academy
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Chicago Public League White West Regular Season Conference Championship
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Chicago Public League Red North/West Conference game
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Real Chi Youth
On March 14, students nationwide walked out of their schools to stand in solidarity with Stoneman Douglas High School students in a symbolic protest for stricter gun laws in light of the Parkland, FL shooting that happened a month ago.
Real Chi Youth
North Lawndale was a booming economic hub of Chicago in the early 1900s when the community was filled with major businesses including Sears Roebuck and Western Electric. Over time, as demographics changed, Sears and other businesses left the neighborhood and poverty levels began to increase.
FSM News
On March 14th, 2018, students from Gary Comer College Prep in Chicago, IL decided to participate in the nationwide school walkout to honor the victims of the Parkland tragedy and end gun violence.
FSM News
Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z... In this newscast we are focusing on how things have changed and evolved over the generations. We have an editorial on pop culture, interviews about changes in teenage life, advancements in tech, how getting your music heard has evolved, and a humorous short thinking about the good old days!
FSM News
In this funny edition of "FSM News Is On," take a look at what happens when a game of Uno takes a turn south for one player.
FSM News
In this editorial, reporter Devonne looks at how pop culture - specifically music and clothing styles - have changed and affected people.
FSM News
In this news package, we interview several millennials and Gen X'ers about how they feel life and things have changed (or not changed) for teenagers over the generations.
FSM News
In this DYK, we take a look at some of the big technological advancements over the past 50 years in areas including transportation and communication.
FSM News
In this narrative, two music artists show how promoting your music has changed over time. This news package explores the shopping and donation habits of Americans during the holiday season.
FSM News
In this whimsical short, we take a look at how we used to do things "back in the day"!
Real Chi Youth
Hip hop dance has been rapidly gaining popularity in recent years, largely due to the advent of omnipresent social media.
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On March 24th 2018 several North Lawndale College Prep students took a bus to Washington DC to March For Our Lives.
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Browse our library of youth produced media. From documentaries, and PSAs, to sports broadcasts and narrative shorts, our library is as vast as our artists' imaginations.
Our multimedia In-Depth Features combine new media and solutions-oriented journalism to examine key issues affecting our community.
Our production doesn't stop at video! Listen to our short and long-form podcasts, featuring some very special guests working to bring justice, art, and unity to our city.
Free Spirit Media provides teens and young adults in communities of color on Chicago’s West and South sides with a comprehensive foundation in media literacy and hands-on media production experience. Free Spirit Media runs IN-SCHOOL arts education, AFTER SCHOOL and summer digital media programs, and advanced CREATIVE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT programs.
IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
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Free Spirit Media hosts community screenings, dialogues, and parties year-round. Reserve your spot at our upcoming events.
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Free Spirit Media & WTTW - PBS Chicago
Tune in to WTTW on May 3rd at 10PM for a double feature of two Free Spirit Media produced films!
Ora Dobbins, a retired CPS music teacher, is on a mission to assert the role black women played in popularizing various American music genres.