I, too, am America - Students' Stories + Art

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LA Times High School Insider and PBS SoCal’s Student Reporting labs partnered with Mendez High School and artworxLA to create a body of election-issue student created content around the theme “I, too, am America.” Building from the iconic Langston Hughes poem, I, too, student writers and artists from different schools across the city worked together over the past two months to explore their place in the evolving American landscape.

The goal: giving American youth an opportunity to share their perspectives on issues that matter to them in 2017.

After being given a set of prompts, brainstorming and discussing concepts amongst their peers, students wrote, painted, designed, and filmed their ideas. Go behind the scenes to learn more about the beginnings of this collaboration.

Below is a sampling of their work, also accessible on LA Times High School Insider, which students will present through spoken word, music, video, and theater at a free community event on February 16.

Note: the student work below was created in the students’ personal capacity. The opinions expressed in these pieces are the authors’ own and do not reflect the view of PBS SoCal.