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arts&culture/ Media DatePosted:6/2/06


Happy 10th HarlemLive
by Kevin Benoit

In June of 1996, a public school teacher and Harlem resident founded HarlemLIVE at the rise of the Internet craze. While many argued that the Internet was just a fad and that dot-coms would crash in the years to come (and many did), this teacher had a vision of giving license to teens to be nosy and curious about their world, using a press badge and the emerging digital technologies.

HarlemLIVE began when five 7th grade students (who together produced a hardcopy newspaper in their 6th grade East Harlem school) banned together with just one laptop and a digital camera and began posting their stories and photos on the World Wide Web.

As years progressed, HarlemLIVE became home to young adults from all over NYC - from its beginnings of producing the award winning publication from their own living rooms, to a basement space at Teacher's College, a three-year stretch at the nation’s first technology center, a temporary stay in Bloomberg's corporate offices, and now, for over 4 years, in a 2400 sq ft loft on 125th Street.

In this time, HarlemLIVE has transformed an eleven year-old child who was oblivious to the possibilities of the web, into a twenty year-old award winning webmaster with a full scholarship to Parsons School of Design. One Editor was named one of Teen People's “20 Teens To Change The World.” Many alumni went on to internships at MTV, The New York Times, and The View, while others earned full time positions with Bloomberg and other top corporations. They’ve attended Morehouse, Spelman, Oxford, Columbia, Yale, Cornell and others.

Many of the faces have been replaced with a new generation of aspiring journalists, video producers, web designers and public speakers. But a decade later, the founder is still volunteering his time while many of the alumni and professionals volunteer as well in keeping the program a success.

With an annual core of 100 students, 50 professional adult advisors including graduate students from the Columbia School of Journalism, HarlemLIVE continues to get bigger and better.
For ten years, HarlemLIVE has been leading the way by empowering diverse youth towards leadership with experience and exposure in media and technology.

We wish to thank ALL of many adult volunteers who over the years have been instrumental to our longevity. A special thanks to Teachers College for their continued support.and for hosting our site.




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