‘I’m inspired by what I saw today’: J-School Noire Educates, Motivates
Their hands darted up quickly every time they were asked to talk about the world and their role in it. They peered intently into field cameras, learning skills they might one day deploy on movie sets and in television studios.
The 12-member inaugural J-School Noire class was all-in on learning.
J-School Noire, held on February 25 at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) in Halifax, is the jumping-off point for the CABJ’s nationwide media-training program for black students. They came from across the province, ranging from sixth graders to soon-to-be high school graduates, giving interviews, recording video footage and hosting newscasts at NSCC’s state-of-the art television lab. NSCC was one of J-School Noire’s key partners for this event.
POINTS OF VIEW
The 12-member J-School Noire class represented a cross-section of Nova Scotia’s diverse black community. Half were from Halifax, while Mia and Micah hailed from western Nova Scotia, Trinity visited from Pictou, towards the east, and Ray, Zion and Savannah came in from Windsor, about an hour north of Halifax.
Students started their day by introducing themselves through “This is Me” biographies, some in video form and others in writing. They learned about journalism ethics, storytelling and camerawork before heading to the TV studio to record news bulletins.
The goal was to recruit, inspire and train the next generation of journalists, filmmakers and social-media influencers. Quite simply, there aren’t enough black faces and voices in the Canadian media landscape, and several of these eager African Nova-Scotian students are ready to lead the wave of change.
“We acted like news reporters,” said Noah, who’s in Grade 6. “That was really fun to me. It made me feel like it would be something I would want to do in real life.”
Tjasa, a Grade 8 student, said J-School Noire was a big step towards her goal of becoming an actor and a director.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this,” said Tjasa. “I’ve always been looking for something that I can do to help me for what I want to do in the future and finally I found that.”
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
The big day got even bigger at lunchtime when officials dropped by from J-School Noire’s two other partners: the University of King’s College and Global News. They announced a $10,700 journalism scholarship for African-Canadian youth at King’s, the main journalism school on the east coast. Who knows? Maybe one of the future scholarship recipients was sitting in that very room.
ADULTS INSPIRED BY YOUTH
A while back, Douglas Ruck was also a black youth searching for educational opportunities, but programs such as J-School Noire were nowhere to be found in Nova Scotia, a society where racism was a daily reality. He recalls the days when his family moved from Halifax to neighbouring Dartmouth, only to find the climate far from neighbourly.
“The neighbourhood took out a petition to keep our family out,” said Ruck. “I fought every day of my life from primary to Grade 8 until there was no one left to beat up.”
Ruck later became a lawyer and is now the chair of the Board of Governors at King’s College. He said Canadians need to see young black talent on film and television to break down barriers of ignorance.
“You have people there in Grade 6 who are going to be leading others,” said the chair.
“Those young students are an inspiration for me.”
MENTORSHIP
The seven-hour J-School Noire session ended far too quickly, but the CABJ has made sure things are just getting started for the inaugural class. Several prominent media personalities surprised the attendees by showing up in person at the end of the day to introduce themselves as mentors. Beginning in the fall, students will do on-the-job shadowing with comedian Trent McClellan (This Hour has 22 Minutes), radio host Portia Clark (CBC Information Morning, seen right) and sportscaster Vince Williams (CTV). Other J-School Noire attendees will be mentored by the Halifax Black Film Festival.
It’s just the beginning of a journey by 12 youths towards a future without limits.
J-School Noire Halifax mentors Vince Williams (CTV), Trent McClellan (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), and Portia Clark (CBC Radio).
Email us at contact@cabj.news if you, or someone you know, would be interested in J-School Noire, a media-training program for high-school students in the black community.