October just started, and it is that time of the semester when final project proposals are due. This is the case for my Introduction to Civic Media course, taught by CMS professor Sasha Costanza-Chock, where I am interested in understanding the daily media practice of immigrant communities in Boston.

For the past few years, my research has focused on media use among immigrant communities in the United States. Specifically, I have been looking at media activism and media practice in social movements for immigrants’ rights. Inspired by one of the earliest exercises in our Intro to Civic Media course about creating a model of digital inclusion, I am interested in understanding how immigrant communities, are already using media on a day-to-day basis. My previous research in this area has confirmed that there is no single “magic tool” that immigrant youth are using when communicating and networking with others. Instead, many media practitioners in the immigrants’ rights movement use a wide variety of media at their disposal, often entire media ecologies, in order to accomplish their goals. What’s more, for older generations, traditional media is still very central.

This summer I have been working with IDEPSCA, The Institute of Popular Education of Southern California, through an internship provided by the Center for Civic Media. As stated in their name, IDEPSCA is an organization that works under the premise of popular education. Popular Education is a practice and approach perhaps most widely associated with pedagogue Paulo Freire and his influential work Pedagogy of the Oppressed. IDEPSCA works in three major domains: Human Rights and Immigrants’ Rights, Education and Youth, and Economic Development.

The following is a summary of an interview with Julio Salgado regarding a project with the Center for Civic Media at MIT on the role of Media and Technology in Social Movements.

Contextualizing Media Practice

The following is a summary of an interview with Julio Salgado regarding a project with the Center for Civic Media at MIT on the role of Media and Technology in Social Movements.

About Julio Salgado and Dreamers Adrift

The following is a summary of an interview with Renata Teodoro regarding a project with the Center for Civic Media at MIT on the role of Media and Technology in Social Movements.

Networked Collaboration

Collaboration with networks and alliances has played a large role for the Student Immigrant Movement in Boston, comments Renata. Recently, SIM has found support from the faith community. “The faith community is still a huge resource…I would say even more than organizations.” Churches are significant because they are often indiscriminant of citizenship status, which allows for outreaching to both undocumented immigrants and non-immigrants at once. Also, high schools and universities have been excellent sites to reach undocumented youth. “Most of those people [faith communities and students] aren’t engaged yet into any type of movement.”

The following is a summary of an interview with Renata Teodoro regarding a project with the Center for Civic Media at MIT on the role of Media and Technology in Social Movements.

The Student Immigrant Movement

Renata Teodoro is the Development Director of the Student Immigrant Movement (SIM), which is an undocumented youth-led immigrant’s rights organization that focuses on education. SIM emerged from the battle for in-state tuition for undocumented youth in Massachusetts, but has also been very active around the Dream Act, stopping the deportation of students, and “building leadership of young people in the community.” The best source for more information on SIM is their website, or by visiting their office in Chinatown.

The following is a summary of an interview with Nancy Meza regarding a project with the Center for Civic Media at MIT on the role of Media and Technology in Social Movements.

Sound Bytes

The following is a summary of an interview with Nancy Meza regarding a project with the Center for Civic Media at MIT on the role of Media and Technology in Social Movements.

Nancy Meza is a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles and an immigrants’ rights activist. She received her training from Inner City Struggle in 2003, where she learned campaign strategy, political education, and organizing. At Inner City Struggle, Nancy was part of the Media Collective, an intensive after school workshop series that lasted for 6 months and involved analyzing and deconstructing the media. “I think it’s important to understand [that] the media plays a huge role in our society, not just in terms of…projecting a message, but…creating our own messaging for campaigns.” At this media collective, Nancy learned the background on media, media ownership, and how the media functions. “I was able to learn…how to create your own media and how to …really create a message, how to frame a message…and how to get your ways across in an effective way in terms of a campaign.”

The following is a brief summary of an interview with Kyle de Beausset regarding a project with the Center for Civic Media at MIT on the role of Media and Technology in Social Movements.

Kyle de Beausset has been involved with immigrants’ rights movements for nearly seven years. Specifically, Kyle has been working locally in the Boston area with the Student Immigrant Movement. Nationally, Kyle works with the United We Dream network and has also collaborated wtih Dream Activist. Kyle is also currently employed with Presente, and his personal blog can be accessed at Citizen Orange. Kyle became involved with the immigrants’ rights movement while an undergraduate at Harvard College. Trained as a journalist at the student newspaper the Crimson, Kyle began using media as his primary means of activism - a practice that has only strengthened over time.