Paper Machete

The Roots Crew participated in a journalism and poetry workshop led by Chima Ikoro, the Weekly’s Community Organizing Section editor. The workshop explored how reported pieces use facts, interviews and reputable sources in order to tell a story. A well reported story doesn’t showcase the writer’s opinion, but instead gathers evidence toward a specific point or subject. 

The art of papier-mâché uses paper, usually up-cycled newspaper, bound by adhesive and molded into a shape that becomes hard and strong upon drying. Local news rooms like the Weekly can empower the communities we serve by challenging false narratives and amplifying the stories of community members. In a way, we are using the newspaper as a tool to protect and aid our communities. This section is titled Paper Machete because these students have used copies of articles featured in the Weekly to craft their own stories through the creation of black-out poems. Similarly to how reported pieces gather found information to build a narrative, these poems are tools made from words that have already been written—reframed, refined and sharpened to serve a new purpose.