ZUMIX is a corner of creativity and love for the youth, East Boston residents, and volunteers that congregate there. They host weekly shows on 94.9 FM in the Greater Boston area, they hold music and arts classes for kids, and they train youth on audio technology skills that can help them find employment. ZUMIX started in Madeleine Steczynski’s basement and, two decades later, has become one of the most important hubs for youth development in Boston. Brittany Thomas and Rene Dongo are two young people themselves who joined the organization to help build and manage their radio station and program.
“I am a recipient of the same kind of qualities that our young people get out of here.”
Brittany Thomas, Radio Station Manager, ZUMIX
Brittany arrived in East Boston at ZUMIX almost four years ago after going to school in Vermont. She arrived as part of an Americorps project to recruit volunteers and write grant proposals for ZUMIX’s bid to get a space on FM radio in the Greater Boston area, and she got to stay on.
“I know East Boston through ZUMIX, first off, and also through the radio station, because there are so many individuals and groups plugged in here, who host radio shows. I love that about the radio and ZUMIX; It has started this magnetic thing, where the mixture of young people and older people provides an extended network of support and growth for everybody. I am a recipient of the same kind of qualities that our young people get out of here.”
For Brittany, the best thing about ZUMIX and East Boston is the possibility to be around so many creative people in dialogue through different media, and witness their growth. And she has gotten the chance to herself grow around Madeleine Steczynski, co-founder and director of ZUMIX, and resident of East Boston.
“There’s a moment I think a lot about. I was stressed during the build of the FM radio station, and of course Madeleine had been through a build process on a magnified scale — moving the organization into the firehouse. She said to me, “Take all of your nervous energy, subtract a little bit of stress and add a little bit of fun. All those feelings are still going to be there, but allow yourself to see the fun in the process.””
Brittany admires Madeleine’s ability to continue to see the beauty in small interactions and her humility around her own contributions.
As a relative newcomer to East Boston, Brittany can see herself that it is a time of contrasts among those who have been here for longer and those who have just arrived. “I think there needs to be an intentional desire to try to cross differences and learn about the place where you live. Make the effort to know people here. Try to understand where and why there are divides, and what the concerns are of people who have lived here for a long time. It’s work that takes patience and relationships.”
And this tough work is being done with love by youth at the ZUMIX radio station.
“It’s in everything everyone is making in our radio classes — having the courage to speak your own story first, then those of the people around you. One of our young people began babysitting at the City Life meetings, where the issue of housing displacement became close to her. A few years later when her family faced eviction, she had the information to be a leader for her family and other peers in a similar circumstance. Young people’s desires and hopes and connections with family and friends are in every story that we make here. Our art is a way to talk about what we see and what we want to see.”
“It just feels like a lot of hugs and a lot of love given here.”
Rene Dongo, Radio Program Coordinator, ZUMIX
Rene lived his entire life in the Greater Boston area, but he would rarely come to East Boston; the only thing that would bring him were art activities at the waterfront. Like Brittany, he arrived in East Boston because of ZUMIX, and he quickly realized how much of a magnet ZUMIX for creation and community work.
“First and foremost, it’s a job that was interesting, but the biggest thing that got me here is understanding the community that this radio station brings and attracts, and the kind of environment the station is in is one of kind of hand-holding; it just feels like a lot of hugs and a lot of love given. And it is reciprocal. Folks come here, give their time on the radio to the community, and they are also receiving a very supportive environment to express their own emotions.”
As Boston and especially East Boston go through change, through gentrification, radio stations are crucial to hold spaces where community issues can be discussed. And, as a youth and media professional, Rene recognizes that East Boston has many young leaders full of potential.
“I’ve seen kids who go to community meetings putting input in them, wanting to motivate their peers to come out to community events. Kids who are coming out to a show and knowing it’s important to go to the studio and talk about gentrification, be part of that conversation.”
How can newcomers become involved, too?
“Respecting the culture that is in existence. Invest in the community: go to community meetings, events, and invite your friends. If you have money, contribute to organizations you feel are doing something important. If you have the time, show that with your time. Volunteer at the community spaces that you have.”
