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 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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