HOMECOMING: THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY Taking a deeper dive into episode one to unpack the significance of home and belonging for Black and Latinx young people Frankly. is a podcast that explores the health and wellbeing of adolescents from the perspectives and lived experiences of young people on Chicago’s South and West sides. Co-produced by Chicago youth Kaya Thomas and Alizha Vernon and Ci3 at the University of Chicago, Frankly. is a seven-episode series that builds on the findings from Ci3’s Adolescent X study, a research project that uses narrative-based research methods to explore the messages that young people receive about their bodies, identities, and sexual health. Frankly. centers the voices of young people marginalized by race, gender, and/or sexual orientation as they navigate various social environments, develop their identities, and understand the world around them. Frankly aims to contextualize the stories of young people by examining the ways in which people, structures, and institutions impede or enable their health and wellbeing.
The Frankly. Podcast Mixtape is a discussion guide that accompanies the Frankly. podcast. It includes links to relevant articles, archival and audio-visual materials, films and documentaries, findings from the Adolescent X research study, and resources that provide additional insights into the topics explored in each episode. Additionally, it highlights Chicago-based community spaces that uplift the brilliance and diversity of Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods.
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Episode Summary Gwendolyn Brooks once wrote: “We are each other’s harvest, we are each other’s business, we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” In this poem, she illuminates the importance of community and having networks of care with those we love. She also speaks to the sense of safety and belonging that allows us to grow and thrive when our community is grounded in reciprocity, love, and trust. Community provides us the freedom to understand and accept ourselves. Community is central to our survival. In the first episode, Homecoming, Cat talks about navigating their sexual identity while growing up in a religious and traditional Latinx household. Living within a restrictive environment made it difficult for them to understand their queerness and identity.
Community sustains. Community fortifies. Community grounds. Community becomes a soothing balm we need to heal the wounds created by hurtful prejudices we may face from forces outside of ourselves (systems, social structures, and people) based on our race, gender, sexuality, or class. Becoming each other’s harvest is essential for self-acceptance. When we can be ourselves within our immediate community, then, we can develop the resilience we need to resist the limitations we face within the larger society. The importance of feeling belonging in community and acceptance at home cannot be overstated. In Adolescent X, we found that home was the primary environment in which young people felt both safety and bodily autonomy. Many of the young people we talked to contrasted the risk they experienced in public or on the street with the safety they felt at home. Other environments that young people spend a lot of time in (school, public spaces, transit, and so on) are complex contexts that are not always safe nor comfortable. Recognizing the importance of belonging and that home cannot be the only safe place for young people, several organizations in Chicago seek to provide young people with a sense of community.
Topic Background In episode one, Cat identifies Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH) as a space for like-minded people who affirmed and accepted them. We also heard from Darien R. Wendell, the Education Specialist at ICAH, who
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talked about the environment at ICAH and the importance of ensuring that it is a welcoming and affirming space for queer young folks of color.
About ICAH ICAH is a reproductive justice organization that supports and provides young folks with the resources they need to lead in the reproductive justice movement. ICAH labors to protect and celebrate the sexual identities, rights, and health of young folks across Chicagoland. ICAH has three arms: education, organizing, and cultural work. ICAH has been around for 43 years and started as an organization that worked to protect the rights of pregnant and parenting young people in schools to make sure they had access to education that met their needs, and that they could show up to school and not be discriminated against. ICAH moved into a reproductive justice framework in the mid 2000s, which is when the work began to expand and deepen in terms of inclusivity and intersectionality. Time to Chat: The Podcast | Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health on Spotify: In this episode, CHAT (Change, Heal, Act Together) organizers talk about young people’s experiences in quarantine, and how quarantine affects us and our communities. We encourage our audience to take care of themselves as we get into conversations about real stories within the quarantine. Listen - it’s “Youth Uncensored.”
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Conversation Starters Conversation Starters are prompts that aim to encourage deeper reflection about the topics discussed in each episode. These prompts help readers to get the ball rolling on contextualizing the stories from young people and insights from adult experts regarding community. Readers can reflect alone or share them with family, friends, or classmates! ● ●
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What stories from the episode resonated with you? Why? The episode begins with a beautiful quotation from poet Gwendolyn Brooks, “We are each other’s harvest, we are each other’s business, we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” What does it mean to you to think about your community of loved ones and the care we show one another as a harvest? What messages do you remember receiving as a child about who you should aspire to be? Did those change as you got older? In the episode, how were young people meant to conform, what boxes are/were they meant to fit in? Cat talks about the experience of people “sticking with the idea of them” as opposed to knowing them deeply. Have you had any similar experiences—of people holding ideas about you that don’t capture the full you? What are ways people can show up more authentically in their communities?
Questions that started our own conversations To give readers a sense of how the Frankly. team framed this episode, here are the questions that prompted us into deeper reflection on community, acceptance, and environmental influences. We were able to construct a narrative arc in this episode with these driving questions. ● ● ● ● ● ●
What are the roles that family, home, and culture play in shaping a young person’s identity? How does growing up in Chicago shape a young person’s identity? What is/was home like for young people in Chicago specifically? What happens when young people don’t feel seen, heard, supported, and understood at home? How does tension/disconnection between young people and their home environment make them feel? Where do young people go to seek spaces and relationships where they feel safe, actualized, and supported? What behaviors can families/adults adopt to better support young people as they grow and develop?
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Resources + Links Here are some additional community spaces across Chicago! Brave Space Alliance is the first Black-led, trans-led, LGBTQ+ center located on the South Side of Chicago dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us-by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals on the South and West sides of Chicago. Brave Space Alliance strives to EMPOWER, EMBOLDEN, AND EDUCATE each other through mutual aid, knowledge-sharing, and the creation of community-sourced resources as we build toward liberation of all oppressed peoples. Haji Healing Salon is a vibrant space for transformation activated by powerful healers, mystics, teachers, and therapists with the shared intention of inspiring and supporting people on a healing path. Their unique community healing model means they share the space, lower the cost, and remove many of the historical barriers to accessing such life-enhancing healing modalities as Yoga/Meditation, Reiki Energy Healing, Acupuncture and Plant Medicine. Chicago Freedom School creates new generations of critical thinkers who use their unique experiences and power to create a just world. The Chicago Freedom School takes an innovative approach to youth activism, leadership development, and movement building. BYP100 is a member-based organization of Black youth activists creating justice and freedom for all Black people. BYP100 mobilizes through building a network focused on transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy, and education.
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Production Team Melissa Gilliam Crystal Tyler Ireashia Bennett Kaya Thomas Liz Futrell Alizha Vernon Valerie Reynolds Erisa Apantaku Robin Cogdell Erin Garcia Soo-Young Lee Adriana Brodyn Melissa Sherwin
Creator, Ci3 Founder and Director Story Editor, Ci3 Executive Director Co-Host, Executive Producer, Audio Producer Co-Host, Ci3 Fellow, Producer Project Manager, Producer Ci3 Fellow, Producer Senior Producer, Story Editor Story Editor, Podcast Consultant Graphic Design Lead Story Editor Story Editor, Researcher Story Editor, Researcher Story Editor
Back Cover Frankly. is a podcast that explores the health and wellbeing of adolescents from the perspectives and lived experiences of young people on Chicago’s South and West sides. Co-produced by Chicago youth Kaya Thomas and Alizha Vernon and Ci3 at the University of Chicago, Frankly. is a seven-episode series that builds on the findings from Ci3’s Adolescent X Study, a research project that studies narrative methods to explore the messages that young people receive about their bodies, identities, and sexual health. Frankly. centers the voices of young people marginalized by race, gender, and/or sexual orientation as they navigate various social environments, develop their identities, and understand the world around them. Frankly aims to contextualize the stories of young people by examining the ways in which structural barriers and institutions impede on their health and wellbeing.
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The Frankly. podcast a Ci3 initiative. Ci3 is a research center at the University of Chicago, addressing the social and structural determinants of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. At Ci3, we envision a world in which all youth emerge into adulthood with agency over their bodies and futures. Ci3 is committed to empowering young people, conducting innovative research, and uncovering opportunities for policy and systemic change. For more information visit: ci3.uchicago.edu
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