“I helped make history taking my documentary around Ohio, New York and New Jersey. That is something I will always remember for the rest of my life,” EVC youth producer Shon McGoy explained to me. 

Shon was part of the EVC Youth Speakers Bureau team who spent much of the last three months leading up to the presidential election using their documentary on youth engagement in voting as part of a voter registration drive for young and first time voters.  They travelled to college campuses, schools, and community centers in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Amherst, Massachusetts; Newark, New Jersey; Old Westbury, Long Island; and throughout all boroughs of New York City screening Journeys Through the Red, White, and Blue, leading discussions and urging their young audiences to get involved and vote. Over 600 DVDs were distributed for community screenings nationwide. Video clips were also streamed on-line in numerous websites with voter information and downloadable registration forms. In addition, two production teams produced six one-minute news briefs airing youth views on the election that were broadcast on BET’s news and YOU(th)VOTE! public affairs campaign.  All told, EVC’s youth works were viewed by an estimated twenty million young viewers. 

And yes, they did help make history.  And they helped change the world. On November 4th, Barack Obama was elected the first African American president of the United States. And on that day, approximately 24 million 18-29 year olds cast ballots, more than in any election since 18 year olds won the right to vote in 1972.

It’s important to recognize that their efforts both made history and were only possible because of history. Today’s youth media activists stand on the shoulders of the students who protested, organized, and even gave their lives in voter registration drives in the South during the early 1960’s.

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Jessica Cele, 19, was born in South Africa and grew up in Harlem.  In 2007, Jessica joined Advanced Doc Workshop and made It's Not About Sex, a documentary exploring the prevalence of sexual violence. Through EVC, Jessica recently completed three 1-minute shorts for the You(th) Vote! campaign on BET News.  She is currently majoring in Nursing at LaGuardia Community College and wishes to continue school to study film or photojournalism.

Did anything surprise you about your time at EVC?

Yeah.  We chose sexual violence as our topic. And, you know, it’s touchy, it’s already been done.  At first, we wanted to drop it.  But we were able to tackle it in a different way.  It wasn’t a lecture.  We brought in music videos, and statistics, and personal stories from teenagers.  I think, in the end, it came out really well.

You’ve stayed involved with EVC, even after Doc Workshop ended.  How did that happen?

Well, after I was done at EVC, I got this idea to make a documentary about AIDS awareness in New York and South Africa.  I was so excited about it, I just wanted to talk to someone!  So I came to talk to Miriam, my old instructor.  She gave me advice about applying for grants, and about another film program, all that.  And then Sebene [EVC’s Deputy Director] noticed that I was trying to learn more, so she asked me if I wanted to do the BET project.  So, yeah, I’ve been around.  It’s nice to be here.  It’s peaceful.  You get away from the craziness.

You mentioned a documentary project about AIDS awareness.  What excites you about the idea?

I’d like to approach it from the idea of six degrees of separation, because it affects us all. We’re all connected to it.  I’m from South Africa, and last May my Aunt died of AIDS.  She’d just found out that February – after her husband died, she went in to get tested.  After she got the news she went really fast, just three months.  I think a lot of people are scared to get tested because there’s the stigma attached to it.

And what are you doing now?

Well, I’m working on a proposal for the film project.  And also, I’ve got this internship at a photography production company.  I’m a really visual person – I’ve been taking pictures since I was eight, when I picked it up at camp in New Hampshire – so it’s exciting.  I’m doing office work, errands, copying, like, real intern work.  I haven’t been on set, yet. But just last week they flew to L.A. to shoot for Harper’s Bazaar.  So I need a strategy to let them know I’m interested in what they do.  I’d really like to be on that set.

Nearly half of all American teens ages 15-18 have had sex, yet only one state, New Jersey, has mandatory comprehensive sex education. The Baby in Me: A Sory of Teen Pregnancy follows Regina, 15, and her 17 year old boyfriend, Anthony, who are 6 months pregnant. Through their story, Regina's sister, an EVC Youth Producer, attempts to understand the causes of teen pregnancy, the possible impacts later in life, and some of the major historical and societal shifts on the issue.
Watch an excerpt

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