The LIFT Project | Research and Resources for Trusted Messengers in the Black Midwestern Communities

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LIFTxVoices' inaugural workshop highlighted Detroit's trusted messenger and beloved columnist Darren Nichols (Detroit Free Press). The LIFT x Voices programming is a public-facing data-driven storytelling project that allows researchers from the LIFT project to collaborate with media makers to visualize the data we collect for the more general public. Pop Up Docs ® – is a mobile media production company that offers a framework for engaging youth and young adults in visual journalism production through apprenticeships – to help tell the stories we find in the data, from the narratives of trusted messengers to the specific concerns of Black communities. Video, Lighting, Audio and Interview Questions By: Alaina Lindsey, Apollo Reed, DJ Beatty, Ambrose Cornelius, Jack Rumsey, Jackson Moffett, Juan Holguin, Josie Woodyard, Hendrix Domangue, and Adia Nealy. Workshop Mentors: Brianna Schmidt, Alexis Schmidt, and Myles Taylor. LIFT Project Director: Dr. Danielle K. Brown During our first workshop, ten Michigan high school students produced a short documentary-style interview production about the named trusted messenger and Detroit Free Press columnist Darren Nichols. For future workshops, Sony will provide additional technology with state-of-the-art camera, sound and video production equipment rentals. This program will produce both a traditional short documentary and an interactive, web-based documentary presentation of trusted messengers that impact Black communities.

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Behind the scenes look at student work from the first week of the LIFTxVoices program. This data-driven storytelling program is a partnership between PopUpDocs, a mobile visual storytelling workshop aimed to provide tech access and training to underrepresented youth and young adults, and the LIFT project.

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Highlights from the LIFT x SHINE symposium held Nov. 2nd, 2023 in WKAR studios in East Lansing, MI. Learn about how media changed after the murder of George Floyd, what Black community members think about journalism, and what solutions have been inspired by this LIFT project research. Includes clips from the Neal Shine Lecture featuring Kyndell Harkness, Head of Community and Culture at the Star Tribune.

Analyzing Media Coverage of George Floyd Protests | Unraveling Racial Narratives

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Danielle Brown, PhD, delves into media coverage of the George Floyd protests, providing invaluable insights into the impact of narratives on our understanding of these crucial events. Explore the influence of media on racial narratives in this informative discussion. The LIFT Symposium was hosted by the College of Communication Arts & Science at Michigan State University and WKAR.

WHAT'S NEW?

SNEAK BEHIND THE SCENES

Danielle Brown, LIFT Project Director and panelists at LIFTxShine Symposium in 2023.

Kyndell Harkeness LIFTxShine Lecture at MSU 2023

WATCH THE FULL SYMPOSIUM

WATCH LIFT'S HIGHLIGHTS

Watch the video above to learn more about Darren Nichols, a Detroit Free Press Columnist and the first Black Midwest Trusted Messenger featured from our LIFTxVoices Program. Then, sneak behind the scenes with PopUp Docs to see more what it's like to with local high school students on this data visualization project.

RECENT PRESS MENTION

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The LIFT Project is an engaged research effort aimed at identifying networks of trusted messengers in Black communities in the Black Midwestern communities to: 1) understand their effects on civic and democratic life; 2) create, network and allocate resources needed to better inform Black communities; and 3) build new opportunities for sustainable reparative narrative change.

The project began in 2022 in Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota, and was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's Combatting Disinformation in Communities of Color Fund. Key data findings from our work in Minneapolis and St. Paul were presented during the LIFT Symposium and summaries of data findings are available here. This project informs a broader initiative and effort to support resilience and reparative narrative change in media and for Black communities.

We are currently seeking partners and funding support to continue the work in Michigan and beyond. We're interested in working with and supporting researchers, students, journalists, faith leaders, and activists in Midwest and around the United States to create a comprehensive and community-directed effort. Check out our current team members and, please consider sharing our work with others.