SALISBURY – Livingstone College is on the air again – this time from the pod.

The college will cut the ribbon and celebrate the grand opening of its podcast café at noon today.

The podcast café, located on the first floor of the Walls Center, is the only podcast hub in the county and is believed to be the only one among historically Black colleges in the state.

It was made possible through a $30,000 Home Depot Retool Your School improvement grant for 2021, which is based on consumer voting.

Livingstone repurposed its existing game room into a podcast café that includes three sound-proof podcast cubicles and a control room. Each cubicle is outfitted with a podcast microphone, and audio and video components for broadcasting.

The main entrance of the game room area was reconfigured to include a stage for performances and small events, such as tiny desk concerts, open mic nights and independent artist showcases.

The grand opening will feature Livingstone College band members, a deejay and remarks by Dr. Orlando Lewis, vice president of student affairs; Anthony Brown, student activities director; Keith Anderson, multimedia director; Ne’Kahia Ray, freshman class president; and Livingstone President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins Sr.

Jenkins will culminate the event by producing the college’s first podcast in an interview-style format with Lewis as host. You can find this podcast and others produced by Livingstone College on its official YouTube channel, SoundCloud and eventually other podcast platforms.

“We worked hard to bring this podcast cafe to fruition and have invested many volunteer hours and sweat equity into the project,” Lewis said. “We are grateful to the volunteers who assisted and to Home Depot for this grant program that provides resources to historically black colleges for campus improvements.”

The podcast industry (online audio broadcasts) is growing and appealing more to a younger audience, according to Forbes.com. There are more than 2 million podcasts with more than 48 million episodes. Nearly six in 10 U.S. consumers above age 12 listen to podcasts; and U.S. podcast advertising revenues are expected to surpass $2 billion in 2023. “Staying current and providing our students with programs and services that are popular and in demand is how we remain relevant as an institution,” Brown said. “This podcast café provides an opportunity for students to
engage and embrace this popular tool of communication.”

Livingstone also plans to rent podcast booth space to other podcasters. The podcast café is located next to the campus radio station and will be utilized as a part of the college’s proposed communications program.

Isenberg Elementary holds Black History Month programs

Isenberg Elementary School  honored Black History Month through a variety of learning opportunities across all grade levels. Isenberg’s scholars participated in a speaker series with community members who talked with students about the importance of Black History Month and shared how they are working to create history currently.

As the first African American woman elected to Salisbury City Council, Al Heggins encouraged students to use their voices to create change. Local attorney Ryan Stowe expressed the importance of work ethic to overcome obstacles while setting big goals. The series closed with local business owner Rodney Wallace, who challenged students to channel their energy into positive outlets and shared strategies on how to manage social, emotional, and physical health.

In the classroom, teachers created unique experiences for students to make connections between their goals and key historical events and influencers. In Pre-K, students read and reflected around books like “Ruby Bridges” and “Just Like Josh.” In music class, Isenberg’s students learned about the history of music from Sierra Leone, Trinidad and Tobago, and within the United States. First graders researched 10 Black inventors and created their own books to share with peers and family members. With a dual language connection, first graders also created books about these inventors in Spanish.

The third grade team created daily lessons to teach students about Black history in music, sports and in the community. Isenberg’s fourth and fifth grade classes held a living museum exhibit and shared key learnings with family members and peers.