A new feature: excerpts from our guest speakers

Welcome to the blog for the Cleveland Urban Journalism Workshop 2008. This year, our participants come from public, parochial and private schools from Cuyahoga and Lake counties.

We aim to help high-school students experience real-world journalism. The profession is moving fast to take advantage of new media. We're no exception. Last year, we added this blog. This year, we're adding more multi-media and visual components.

Each week, for example, we'll post a link to an excerpt from our guest speaker. This week's speech comes from Julie Wynne-Martin, mother of Eric Scott Russell.

Eric was a 2002 workshop graduate. He gained national prominence when he was labeled "Blacky" in a team picture in his high school yearbook. Although he was urged to retaliate, he decided to work to fight racism in his school. Eric never graduated; he died abruptly at 17. The Cleveland Urban Journalism Workshop memorialized Eric by naming its annual scholarship after him.