In this episode, Mark Simon is joined by 3 college students formerly from Kirkwood (Mo.) High School: Emma Lingo, Maddie Meyers, and Kiden-Aloyse Smith to talk about a project they did for their high school newspaper in 2020.

They were part of a group that took The 1619 Project, the Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles and podcasts from the New York Times and adapted it to cover their largely white suburb outside St. Louis. They wrote stories about topics such as the impacts of redlining, redistricting, and economic disparities in and around their community

Mark talked with the students about the pieces they wrote, the writing process, and how they reacted when they heard that politicians in Iowa just introduced legislation to ban the teaching of The 1619 Project.

Mark and podcast intern Emmy Liederman then briefly discussed what the students shared, and Mark shared something he found online connected to Black History Month and journalism history.

Thanks to the Student Press Law Center, whose website made us aware of this project, and Kirkwood High School journalism teacher Mitch Eden for putting us in touch with the students.

Important Websites

The Kirkwood Call's 1619 Project

Kirkwood Call Twitter

Vince Dixon's 28 Black Pioneers Project