Operation Shoestring publishes podcast series on raising children in Jackson, past and present
Operation Shoestring recently published an oral history project in the form of an interview-style podcast exploring the challenges and changing practices of raising children in Jackson.
Operation Shoestring is a Jackson-based nonprofit focused on providing free, high-quality after-school and summer programs. The nonprofit was founded in 1968 amid the Civil Rights Movement and continues to serve children facing economic and educational barriers in the Jackson Metro area.
The name "Operation Shoestring" comes from the phrase "shoestring budget" and refers to the fact that the organization's founders managed to make a significant difference with very little resources. Over the years, the notion of a string that ties something together has fit aptly with the nonprofit's motto, "We all rise together."
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Operation Shoestring's latest project titled "Raising Children in Central Jackson: A Series of Oral History Recordings" illuminates the experiences of raising a child in Jackson as well as growing up in the capital city. Many of the episodes feature people who grew up in Jackson and are now raising their own children in the neighborhoods served by Operation Shoestring.
Alison Turner, Operation Shoestring research and data coordinator, led the project, which includes interviews conducted by volunteer community members. The nonprofit partnered with the Margaret Walker Center to publish the archival oral histories.
The project totals 35 episodes with 35 different stories. Episodes range in length from just over 10 minutes to just over an hour.
Turner moved to Jackson from Denver in 2022 to complete the project as part of her post-doctorate work. She said she quickly realized in order to tell the story accurately, she needed to reach out to the community. Turner held workshops to train the six community volunteers who conducted the interviews. Outside funding allowed Turner to provide the interviewers with a stipend.
Velika Michael became one of the six interviewers after she heard about the project from a co-worker. Michael said she chose to participate, because she wanted a chance to connect to other people's stories.
"I just wanted to know different stories about different people, because you never know how a person grew up," Michael said. "I think I was interested in learning about it from their different backgrounds and their different walks of life."
Michael helps raise her twin sister's four kids, two in middle school and two in high school in Jackson. Michael often subs in for her sister at parent-teacher conferences, doctor's appointments and school activities.
Michael's experience helping to raise her sister's children in Jackson reflects the "it takes a village" mentality she felt in her own upbringing. Michael found this same mentality in many of her interviews.
"I saw how everybody has a support system that they can lean on, whether it be a church, a neighbor or a friend, it's always somebody that they can lean on and that they have effected in a way that they didn't know they were able to," Michael said.
The village mentality is explored further in different episodes as interviewers discuss whether that concept is still alive today.
Michael serves as interviewer in four episodes, including one in which she interviews her sister Shelika Michael, who also has her own episode in which she discusses her childhood with fellow volunteer interviewer Shalaun Davis.
Many of the stories highlight the differences between growing up in Jackson in the 1960s or 1970s compared to today. Social media, educational barriers and rising crime rates are all acknowledged several times by the 35 different speakers. Many interviewees pointed out that playing outside freely was common when growing up in decades past, a concept that today is widely seen as dangerous.
Turner said the project, which explores topics ranging from changing practices for discipline to the shifting role of religion in families, had high stakes because the subject matter is so personal. Building trust and relationships with the subjects, Turner said, was one of the biggest challenges.
The end result is a podcast that's not highly produced, but rather feels like getting to know a neighbor.
"(Jackson) is a small place," Turner said. "Even so, there's so many people who aren't talking or listening to each other. I think projects like this are a form of bridge building. It takes vulnerability to tell stories, and it takes a form of openness to listen."
Those interested can listen to "Raising Children in Central Jackson" on the Margaret Walker Center website or on Spotify and Apple Podcast.
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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Operation Shoestring publishes audio series on raising kids in Jackson