Hello! We hope you learned a little about us interns from our social media intern introductory post. We’re excited to share various topics and happenings with you while remaining fun and engaging. Our main goal is to inspire young people to do what they enjoy and to share their thoughts freely without judgement and fear.

This past month we have been hard at work creating content for some of October’s holidays and important events. These included Indigenous Peoples’ Day, National Coming Out Day, and the National Workers Strike. Read on to learn about our process creating these posts.

Indigenous Peoples' Day and National Coming Out Day (NCOD) by Lacee

In a world where we are often told to be ashamed of who we are, we celebrated those who choose to ignore stigmas and be themselves on October 11th this year. Indigenous Peoples' Day and National Coming Out Day (NCOD) are both underreported holidays. It was an exciting experience to be able to research the two commemorations and create a post that encourages others to learn more as well.

It's an honor to recognize the many sacrifices made by the changemakers who made these days possible. Since we were graced with the chance to celebrate both holidays on one day, we first readied our social media audience with our NCOD post. This day encourages self-acceptance and truth. As a proud ally to the LGBTQ+ community, I was determined to accurately share some of the histories of this holiday. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is similar to NCOD in it’s acknowledgement of it’s community. Indigenous Peoples’ Day specifically recognizes the impactful legacy of the Native American community. 

As each community continues to celebrate their journeys and honor their cultures and identities, we must share what we have learned and do our best to engage in a positive, respectful, and effective manner. Even after writing the post, I'm still learning about the Native American and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as the beautiful brave souls who comprise them. I hope my post taught every viewer something new or reminded them why we treasure these holidays. This post was written for myself as well as to educate and motivate our social audience. It has inspired me to keep going, no matter how difficult the road may be. As a result of these progressive changes, I am confident that there is always a way to encourage others to reflect and keep evolving their perspectives.

National Workers Strike by Chamia

The previous year has really made a lot of people rethink their life's purpose and wellbeing, including me. Growing up you’re always asked what it is you want to do when you grow up, referring to a job or work. This instills that as you get older the only thing you need to focus on is getting a good job that pays well just to have a fulfilling life. But what happens when those jobs are not fulfilling to you? We suffer. While asking these questions I realized many other Americans feel the same way especially after going though this pandemic, having drastic income decreases, and for some including myself having to apply for government assistance.

While on my quest for answers I came across the National General Strike. This is a strike for all people that are fed up with low wages, unfair wage:work ratio, and lack of benefits. Although I did not participate by striking, I felt that the best way to support this movement is by sharing their message with as many people as possible. If you agree that there needs to be some reform in your own working environment I encourage you to share your opinion and be on the lookout for opportunities to invoke change!

Note: As the National General strike concluded, the website now redirects elsewhere. Please advise that the message of this post is still very prominent in society. Make efforts to speak out about disparities that you find in your workplace.

About the position

Wide Angle's Social Media Interns create engaging ways to share what’s up at Wide Angle on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter channels. They work to identify new ways to uplift youth voice, develop posts about important social justice topics, and hone their skills as a social media content creators. The Social Media Intern position is part of a pilot to create a communications pathway in our workforce program.

MEET THE AUTHORS

Lacee Cottman is a student at the University of Baltimore pursuing her bachelor's degree in Psychology. Lacee began as an intern with Wide Angle through Urban Alliance. She found great interest in media-making after working on various projects from design to photography to video. She has developed life plans, workforce readiness skills, and design projects for clients such as Baltimore Mediation Center and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her content writing and creation skills have developed tremendously. She’s developed multiple informative posts for Wide Angle’s social media platforms, highlighting Black August, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, National Coming Out Day, and more.

Chamia Winston is a student at Coppin State University majoring in Health Information Management, who also has an interest in social media management and digital marketing. Throughout her final year of high school and into her junior year at Coppin, she developed life plans, workforce readiness skills, and participated in design projects for clients such as the Baltimore Mediation Center and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Through her passion for bettering the community she hopes to inspire her community to create solutions to the problems they experience first hand.