Estella Owoimaha-Church wrote -

Mother’s Day Radio Mission
Our mission is to (1) engender respect for the lives of women and marginalized youth by advancing media portrayals of their inherent value, worth, and humanity; and (2) foster agency in the lives of disenfranchised individuals by providing the opportunity to influence and advocate for media portrayals that respectfully represent them. We build this work through our annual Weekend of Uplift Conference and Youth Media Literacy Peer Mentor Program.

Redefining Respect & Community Need
The 2011 Grammy’s paid tribute to this Queen of Soul, who in 1967 belted, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me!” Aretha While this song was made popular to cross-over audiences in the 1960s and 70s, the charge to “find out what it means” remains relevant today.

What does RESPECT mean among today’s youth? Dominant media images and messages paint a picture of respect as a status earned through violence, domination, gun play, posturing, wealth, sexual prowess, sexual conquest, and territorialism. Respect through violence and domination has filtered into the psyches, belief systems and practices of America’s youth, drastically impacting historically disenfranchised youth who often have no other attainable form of power greater society. Youth learn by imitating what they observe, and media is a huge source of observation for them.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Journal, “The vast majority of studies conclude that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real-life violence. This link is undeniable and incontestable. American media have also succeeded in glamorizing guns in a way that endangers the public health of youngsters and adults.”

Mother's Day Radio seeks to break this link between media violence and youth violence as well as the link between sexual degradation in media and sexual violence in our communities. We will do so by training youth to be critical thinkers, decision makers, consumers and creators of media.

Youth Media Symposium & Concert: Redefining Respect
Through this years’ Youth Media Symposium & Concert, Mother’s Day Radio seeks to reframe respect in terms of a human being’s value and positive contribution to her culture, community and society. We train youth to be critical thinkers, consumers and creators of media.

Youth Media Symposium & Concert: Redefining Respect will target 700 disenfranchised youth across Southern Los Angeles, focusing on 25 middle and high schools. The symposium seeks to accomplish the following:

1. Provide media literacy education and media justice advocacy to Southern Los Angeles youth.
2. Increase access to artists, musicians, entertainers, producers and media outlets whose art honors the humanity of women and youth Southern Los Angeles.
3. Provide access to local colleges, clubs/organizations and civic programs for Sothern Los Angeles families and schools.
4. Raise $10,000 to support our Youth Media Literacy Peer Mentor Program year round at Los Angeles middle and high schools.

Our symposium will include 18 breakout sessions covering topics ranging from the psycho-sociological risks of overexposure to degrading media portrayals, to hands on media production skills and real life stories of media industry professionals. We will host 25 vendors from local colleges, clubs/organizations and civic programs. Lunch will be provided and we will top the day off with a live music concert.