DENVER — Two in three black people don’t feel properly represented in the media according to a 2020 National Research Group study.
In a city changing by the day, neighborhood institutions losing the battle of corporatization, and celebrating community in Denver comes in the form of a podcast on Fridays.
“If you don’t tell your story someone else will,” Denver native ‘Brother Jeff’ Fard explains from his community center in Denver. “The way we are consumed in a broader perspective is through violence, crime, deficit and then at best Juneteenth, the Black Arts Festival, Kwanzaa. There’s nothing else in between.”
Standing in the gaps are Denver natives and community journalists Shay J’ Shay Johnson and ‘Brother Jeff’ Fard who use their podcast to reach those who are interested in a point of view you can't always find on channels 9, 4, 7 and 31.
“There’s so much beauty to our community that can be shared, to highlight our tragedies seems to be a norm across the country and we have a counterbalance to that,” Brother Jeff explained.
Shay J says it’s not that the mainstream media gets it wrong it's just not always the full picture.
“I’ve heard people say ‘I didn’t think anyone care that my son got killed until you talked about it. Until you opened up the conversation.’ So, it’s necessary because I know how many stories die and we get to be the place that gives it a little more life,” Shay J added proudly. “We get to shed some community on it. We get to wrap our arms around you, and we get to do it our way.”
Raw. Real. Unfiltered. And if you’re black in Denver, an opportunity to see yourself the way you want to be seen.
The Brother Jeff Podcast has been running for four years with no signs of slowing down. You can catch it live every Friday at 2:00 p.m. on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/jeff.fard.
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