| OPINION
Article and photos by Claudia Meléndez Salinas
Michael Ndubisi first crossed paths with Voices of Monterey Bay in October 2020, when he delivered a powerful speech for the All in for Equity Conference. The conference was online — it was 2020, after all — and seeing this North Salinas High School student so close to me (through the marvels of the internet) made his soaring rhetoric the more powerful, the more touching.
Here was this Black youngster addressing our societal ills through a lens of conciliation, of empowering young people. Yes, our history is one of constant transgression against our brothers and sisters of color, against Native Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans. Yes, the roots of our racist past continue to haunt us to this day — in the faces of many Black Americans killed by police officers, in the tremendous wealth disparities that show up as multimillion-dollar mansions and hundreds of thousands of unhoused people throughout the nation. But the way forward, Michael enthused, is through education and empowerment. His speech was so moving Voices of Monterey Bay asked for permission to publish it.
Michael later participated in our Youth Engagement Project, a series of stories reported and written by high school and college students describing efforts of young women and men to remain involved in their community in spite of a crushing pandemic. Led by Charlotte West and with support of the entire team, the project produced eight stories that speak to the resilience and creativity of Salinas youth.
So when Michael emailed me in March with a proposal to re-imagine local news, I was intrigued. My colleagues and I launched Voices in 2017 with the idea of doing precisely that: of filling a void, of re-imagining the way news is being created and perhaps, delivered.
For me, the goal is also about inclusivity. Who gets to be in the news? Who gets to tell the story? How are narratives created? In this time of economic, political, and societal upheaval, reimagining the news, their purpose and their value also seems prime for re-examining.
What we call journalism is one of the several ways in which communities have stitched their fabrics together for centuries.
When Michael and I met in the spring, I was struck by his energy and passion. The team said yes to his offer to help bring in more writers, to bring in more revenue to aid our humble publication. Help is something we desperately need, but our team is so busy producing and publishing stories — and sometimes winning awards — that the job of going out and asking for help is a lot more than what our limited bandwidth can handle.
Journalism is in trouble all over the United States, perhaps all over the world. It’s not just that a rapacious vulture fund is out to destroy newspapers throughout the country (as has been extensively reported by Julie Reynolds in stories such as this one and this one) or that certain former president has called us “enemy of the people” or that a tiny newspaper in Kansas was recently raided by the police, an event that sparked international condemnation from the journalism community and defenders of the First Amendment. It’s also the fact that people are turning away from the news, a phenomenon called “news avoidance” perhaps fueled by all the information available to us at all times, everywhere.
We all need a break from information, and the news, with its relentless focus on what’s “deviant” (otherwise, it would not be “newsworthy”) is a good candidate. According to the latest survey by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 38% of U.S. respondents say they sometimes or often avoid news.
So yes, we need help, local news media need help. What we call journalism is one of the several ways in which communities have stitched their fabrics together for centuries — albeit imperfectly. It’s not just a way to keep the powerful accountable, it’s also a way to keep communities accountable to one another. It’s a way to hold up a mirror and say, “This is us.” Newspapers, local publications, are the foundation of a working democracy. Michael understands that and is very eloquent about finding a way forward.
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Michael and I met again last weekend and talked about a host of topics: about his impending return to Yale University for his sophomore year (he’s been busy since he wrote for the Youth Engagement Project), the history of humanity, slavery, schismogenesis, racism, the horrible way in which certain sectors of society are intent on ignoring our Constitution, and eventually, we mentioned journalism. Why we both believe Voices of Monterey Bay is needed. Why it’s been so challenging to recruit writers. Why it’s such a worthy endeavor.
Our conversation ended with a pact: We will give Voices the next 10 years of our lives. Yes, we both have other things going. Him, full-time studies at an Ivy League university; me, a full-time job not doing journalism and other side distractions such as family and creative writing. But we’ll give Voices whatever we can, and eventually, this seed will grow into a robust tree.
We pinky-swore on it, and that is huge in my book.
Michael once again delivered a keynote speech at the All in for Equity conference on Saturday at the Monterey Conference Center. Now in its fifth year, the conference has proven to be an important gathering of professionals concerned with making local public education more inclusive of diverse voices.
In his speech, Michael once again extolled the virtues of public education, crediting the institution with the advancement of his family — West African immigrants who embody the promise of the American and the California Dream.
In his speech, Michael once again extolled the virtues of public education, crediting the institution with the advancement of his family — West African immigrants who embody the promise of the American and the California Dream. How both his parents worked several jobs and attended school, eventually entering the medical profession, which afforded the family a decent living. How educators are the ones to show us the way forward because “They push us to build a more perfect union and move toward the pluralist, tolerant and free society we know we can be.”
“So when those dark forces come barging at our Golden Gate we say: ‘Not in our schools, not in our classrooms, and not for our kids, because we are all in for equity,’” he said.
Michael received a standing ovation.
He also gave a huge shout-out to Voices. Michael told the audience we need writers, and that we are in pursuit of an endowment to keep the lights on for decades to come. Forget about an endowment, I’d be happy if VOMB got a decent annual budget. But I also believe in the power of dreams, that perseverance pays off, and again, the energy of this kid is contagious.
Michael is one of six youngsters who made this summer a memorable one. The Young Voices Media Project had a small but powerful class with Karen and Carolyn Dorantes, now heading to Ivy League schools; Precious Rios, a student at Everett Alvarez High, Richard Rojas, a sophomore at San Jose State University, and Andrea Valadez, the first Voices intern and now editor-in-chief at CSUMB’s student newspaper, The Lutrinae. All of them talented, hard-working, committed to the pursuit of their dreams. Having them around makes the Young Voices Media Project well worth the effort.
Maybe together with Michael, we can achieve the sustainability we’ve dreamed of since 2017.
But first, he has to finish college.
After stepping off the stage, and taking a few photos with adoring fans, Michael Ndubisi darted out of the Monterey Conference Center to catch a plane to Connecticut. Our paths will cross again, no doubt.
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