Melanin Matters • April 24th, 2025

Embrace Boston plans to commemorate 60 years since the 1965 Freedom Rally

60 years after 20,000 people protested racial imbalance in the city, organizers with Embrace Boston commemorated the work of the civil rights leaders of the past with a rally of their own. Embrace Boston’s Digital Strategy and Production Director Greg Ball joined us to discuss the commemoration.

WBUR • April 15th, 2025

State education officials one step closer to naming new DESE commissioner

As education officials narrowed down their three finalists for the state's new Department of Elementary and Secondary Education commissioner, I made a voicer breaking down the search process and what's next.

Melanin Matters • April 10th, 2025

Sudan accuses UAE of committing genocide; how to help Sudanese families experiencing hunger

Sudan's military government accused the UAE of directly supporting paramilitary forces in Darfur since fighting began in 2023. As reports of displacement and starvation reached alarming levels, BU senior Raheeq Ibrahim joined us to talk about her family's direct aid campaign, Abna alSudan, and how to help.

Melanin Matters • March 27th, 2025

'The organizing that's happening now has needed to happen a long time ago' - L Austin Spooner on anti-trans violence

With the current wave of anti-trans rhetoric and violence, public health advocate L Austin Spooner joins us to discuss the need to recognize the struggle Black trans folks have experienced and what's most challenging in this current moment

WBUR • March 20th, 2025

Advocates increase pressure to keep Boston schools from closing ahead of vote

Parents and school advocates were angry about a proposal to close several Boston area schools, including Dever Elementary and Mary Lyon Pilot High, next school year. I report on their push for more justification from the school district ahead of a school committee vote.

Melanin Matters • March 20th, 2025

How BU's National Society of Black Engineers hopes to invigorate BU's Black STEM community

Students from BU's chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers attended the 50th annual convention in Chicago this year. Karrington Riley, BU NSBE's treasurer, joined us to speak about the group's experience in Chicago and the culture of the group.

Melanin Matters • March 20th, 2025

UMOJA embarks on a 'March Madness' campaign to bolster career readiness

Our Black student union hosted a series of “March Madness” events but instead of flexing their athletic agility, students sharpened their professional development skills. UMOJA’s inaugural month-long campaign was designed to bring students one step closer to achieving their dreams. Events Chair Arize Nwike joined us to speak about what students are taking away from the events.

Melanin Matters • February 27th, 2025

Afro fusion-jazz project aims to honor victims of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade

A new audio-visual project hopes to recognize the legacy of one of the most traumatic instances of oppression in global history. TransAtlantic Journey is the new 12-track album and graphic set by musician, theologian, and psychologist Dr. Jerome Crichton. The project is the culmination of four and a half years of sociological research into the TransAtlantic Slave Trade.

Melanin Matters • February 27th, 2025

Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley speaks on his relationship with God as a Black, queer pastor

Brandon Thomas Crowley is believed to be the first out Black queer pastor in Massachusetts. Crowley joined our 2025 Black History Month special to speak about the intersections of Blackness and queerness as it relates to liberation. I asked Crowley about reconciling his faith as a queer person, the principles that drive his work, and what he hopes to still accomplish.

WBUR • February 13th, 2025

Boston Public Schools prepares for city-wide competition for teens to address social issues

High schoolers across Boston took part in a city-wide competition designed to engage teens in addressing key social issues in their communities. The so-called Aspen Challenge gives students a chance to learn leadership and team-building skills. I made a spot explaining the competition and previewing what's to come.

Melanin Matters • January 30th, 2025

Black BU students react to Ibram X. Kendi’s decision to leave for Howard

After five years as director of BU's Center for Antiracist Research, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi announced today that he will leave the school later this year for a faculty position at Howard University. The Emancipator, the abolitionist digital magazine he co-founded, will go with him, while the CAR, will close at the end of June when its charter expires.

WTBU News • November 26th, 2024

EXCLUSIVE: Grief and grievances: trans students at BU observe the 25th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance

This year marked the 25th observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance. Every year, Transgender Day of Remembrance, or TDOR, honors the lives of trans/gender non-conforming individuals killed due to anti-trans violence within the past year. With organizations counting at least 426 deaths internationally and the election of Donald Trump back into the presidency, this TDOR is hitting members of the community especially hard.

WTBU News • November 5th, 2024

The complex relationship incarcerated people have with voting: an interview with Shannon Ross

For many voters across the country, Election Day is a chance to push for the change they want to see. But for incarcerated people, many of whom cannot vote, it means something different. Shannon Ross is the executive director of The Community, he most widely-read newsletter for and by incarcerated people in the Wisconsin prison system. He explained how incarcerated people stay civically engaged and the misconceptions those on the outside have about voting from the inside.

Melanin Matters • September 25th, 2024

Boston's Haitian community and allies rally against discrimination and push for truth

Hundreds of Haitian community members and their allies rallied on the Boston Common to stand up against discrimination and challenge narratives spread about the community following the September presidential debate. I spoke with advocates about what message they hoped to send and where things need to go from here. This story was nominated for a 2025 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System award.

Chinanu Okoli

NLGJA Connect Student Journalism Program • September 7th, 2024

‘Wanna Smash Bro?’: The Surprising Question Spurring a New Kind of Community in Los Angeles’ WeHo district. - NLGJA Connect Student Journalism Program

The tongue-in-cheek inquiry is a coded reference to one of the hottest game nights in WeHo, when each Wednesday, dozens of LGBTQ+ patrons pour into Beaches for “Wanna Smash Bro?” – a weekly meetup where patrons play rounds of Nintendo’s Super Mario Smash Brothers for hours on end.

The goal? To foster community in a way that decenters alcohol… albeit in one the most well known alcohol-centered queer social districts in the country.

WTBU News • April 9th, 2024

Breakthrough BU wins Student Government election, candidates react at announcement dinner

With a record 4,937 votes, Boston University students elected Breakthrough BU as their 2024-2025 student government executive board. WTBU News was the only outlet to cover the announcement dinner -- I got exclusive reactions from the other candidates and the outgoing board's advice to the incoming student leaders.

WTBU News • March 21st, 2024

MBTA riders concerned with removal of change tickets on buses and trolleys

The MBTA stopped issuing change tickets on all buses & trolleys this month & while the move isn’t impacting many riders across the system, not everyone has welcomed it. I went to Roxbury to hear from riders about their concerns with the decision.

WTBU News • April 25th, 2023

Students divided on the importance of voting after Fight 2 BU wins reelection

While students in all different years and programs across BU voted in this year's Student Government election, voter turnout was less than half what it was last year -- I spoke with students to learn their thoughts on voting and Student Government as a whole.

WTBU News • March 30th, 2023

Executive slates campaigning for office defend their platforms and answer questions at StuGov debate

Student voters heard arguments and asked questions at the Student Election Commission's executive slate debate last Thursday. The three parties running for election -- UNLEASH BU, To Infinity and BUyond, and the incumbent Fight 2 BU -- all sought to connect with students and prove how they will make a difference.

Chinanu Okoli

WTBU News • February 28th, 2023

Youth activists across Greater Boston gather at State House to demand change

Hundreds of students from across Greater Boston rallied at the Massachusetts State House on a Thursday afternoon for the changes they wanted to see --changes such as more funding allocated to youth jobs, support for families facing eviction, the decriminalization of students of color, and more. I was one of only two reporters at this year's rally.

WTBU News • December 6th, 2022

BU Student Taskforce releases Final Report on LGBTQIA+ Students

The BU Student Taskforce released their Final Report on LGBTQIA+ Students in November. I spoke with a taskforce member to break down the findings and interviewed members of the queer and trans community on campus to gain their insights.