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Partnering with residents to fill critical information needs

James Frazier

For the past year, WBGO has committed to incubating a community storytelling space for Newark residents. In the coming months, we will work in partnership with Newarkers to fill critical information gaps. With the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and Victoria Foundation, we are able to provide stipends and training for city residents as resident-reporters.

Today, we announce the Newark residents selected to join our team as resident-reporters.

Meet our 2021 winter cohort:

James Frazier

James Rashad Frazier is a multi-disciplined artist that turned his lifestyle into a career. As a kid growing up in Newark, NJ, James would write poetry and sketch cartoon characters while listening to cassette tapes of 2pac and The Fugees. James graduated from Arts High School as a visual arts major while being persistently scouted by the vocal coach. This is where he fell in love with photography while keeping music close his heart. After graduating James began his journey as a freelance photographer, landing placements at numerous blogs and indie magazines including Urbansocialite.com and The Kluster Group Magazine.

As a journalist he has interviewed Vidal Sassoon Jr, Dee and Wah of the Ruff Ryderz, diaspora activist Sam Garvey, the youngest principal in NJ history, Tyree Barnes and many other culture shifters. James is a published author and also has received executive producer credits as a songwriter. He is currently head of media at The Vision Room, content creation hub founded in Newark, NJ. Here, James gets to flex all of his creative muscles while also continuing to push the culture forward, shedding light on black excellence while connecting communities.

Credit Habeebah Yasin
Habeebah Yasin

Habeebah Yasin

Habeebah Yasin whose pronouns are she/her/they, is a Black Muslim woman who cares about social justice issues including the plight of Black people in the United States and women's rights issues. As an activist, model, and poet, she uses her platform to talk about important issues, provides thought provoking commentary on social structures and promotes self-care and wellness. With a master’s degree from Rutgers University – Newark, in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Health, she wants to bridge the gap between mind, body and soul, providing education to urban communities about the importance of health, sustainability, and mindfulness in every aspect of our lives, including the arts.

Currently she works at CUNY, however she prides herself on engaging with her local community and fostering relationships with Newark residents to build community. Outside of her professional job, Habeebah is also an active member of the Garden State Collective, an independent, NJ based collective focused on creating content about racism, sexism, ableism, queerphobia and other oppressive systems.

Credit Aaron/Una Frazier
Aaron/Una Frazier

 Aaron/Una Frazier

Aaron is currently a deacon at Unity Fellowship Church Newark, co-chair of Men’s Ministry, Volunteer Coordinator for the LBGTQ Center at the Newark Library. With Newark Pride, Aaron is also part of a long-term HIV survivor group and community activist who believes that we matter in this world too.

Aaron work in various ways to help the world by contributing to help others. He will continue to keep fighting for the disenfranchised and those unable to advocate for themselves. Aaron also writes for La Raine Magazine, which is a transgender publication. He is an author and hopes God continues to guide his way and it that supports others along this journey called life.

Credit Tia Ryans
Tia Ryans

Tia Ryans

Tia Ryans is an advocate against the detrimental culminations of the criminal legal system. Her areas of passion and study surround the intersectionality between environmental, social, and criminal injustices that impact disenfranchised communities. As the Founding Executive Director of Forcing Out Recidivism Through Education (F.O.R.T.E. House), she provides a healthy and stable living environment for formerly incarcerated students transitioning from incarceration through post-secondary education.

Tia is also the Founding Chapter Leader of All of Us or None - Northern NJ, where leads grassroots advocacy initiatives to support families directly impacted by the criminal legal system. As a first-generation college graduate, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Rutgers University- Newark. Her experiences include her work with Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10) to strengthen and maintain constituent relationships, collaborations with ETS for best practices surrounding justice impacted college students in the educational ecosystem, and presentations in spaces such as The AAUW about the advancements to advocacy and education for women and girls. Tia is also a speaker of the Faces of Women Imprisoned Speakers Bureau to deepen and broaden public conversation through public symposiums.

Credit Jennifer Madè
Jennifer Madè

Jennifer Madè

Jennifer Made is a youth program manager at the Abbott Leadership Institute. She graduated from Rutgers Newark with her master’s in public administration with hopes of attending law school within the next few months. Jennifer is in many different spaces, but her favorite is in organizing for Newark residents.

Jennifer is a part of various organizations, some that she founded/co-founded and others where she is a member. Her most current accomplishment is her work within the grassroots organization, Newark Community Action Network. Newark CAN is a network of community organizers and Brick City residents building resources and power within our community. Newark CAN has an initiative of raising $100 weekly in order to give away 2 $50 shoprite gift cards to Newark residents in need. Community service and organizing are the driving force for everything that Jennifer does.

Other contributions to the Newark News & Story Collaborative and Story Lab will come from local creatives, community organizations and media outlets.

Project collaborators and partners include: Chrystofer Davis, Gabriel Ribeiro – Nork Audio Project, Khadiyah ThomasIsaiah Little – Gallery Retail, Cobblestone Multimedia, Eyes Like Mine, Inc. and The Newark Times.

A special thanks and shout out to our project partners Free Press and Center for Cooperative Media @ Montclair State University.

We are actively looking for opportunities to collaborate and partner with local community organizations and Newark residents. Please email about@newarkstories.com for more details. 

Interested in learning more about our work and what’s next? Check out this Medium post. Follow the work of our resident-reporters on www.newarkstories.com.

Questions? Suggestions? Collaborate? Email bharley@wbgo.org // bharley@stanford.edu

Brit Harley is the community engagement reporter at WBGO & John S. Knight Community Impact Fellow at Stanford University.