Here is a link to the official CNN video. The embed is below.

The march has been met with some skepticism, especially by openly gay Member of Congress, Barney Frank (D-MA), who told Associated Press: “The only thing they’re going to be putting pressure on is the grass.” He went on to allude to more effective ways the GLBT community could push their equality agenda – constituent lobby days and grassroots efforts in the states, such as Maine, where gay marriage will soon be voted on. But even with that valid point, the thousands of marchers in Washington had ample reason to be here.

Over the last two decades, our government has actually established legislation that prohibits equality. First there is Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), a ban of openly gay people in the military, which reduces military effectiveness. Then there is the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which conflicts the Constitution by connecting church and state with a legal definition of marriage: between a man and a women.

On the other hand, you have the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (EDNA), a piece of legislation that protects people from wrongful termination – except GLBT people. In fact, in 29 states, employers can fire or not hire someone based on their sexuality. And the list of policies that dictate civil rights for a minority group in America goes on.

In sum, our government is actively producing policy that makes some U.S. citizens less than equals. We all know that no matter what, it is not right. But somehow that message has not reached all of America. Here are some people who want to change that.

This interview was recorded on Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

I’m currently sitting in Howard University’s Ira Aldridge Theater. The auditorium is buzzing. MSNBC’s production team is doing sound checks and testing the teleprompter. Chris Matthews, who seems to be here on his own time, is walking around backstage. The team from the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), the non-profit that pulled the show together, are filing students into seats. This is the moment many of them have been waiting for.

And here I am, sitting in the second row, taking it all in. About three weeks ago, I was asked to help produce a series of web videos for the show’s companion web site. Over the course of three weekends I sat at the Dell MTV bequeathed to me during Street Team ‘08, and produced. But what is more important than what I put out, is what I took in.

Here are three of my favorite take aways from my time on the About Our Children project.

1. There is no problem Craigslist can’t solve. I came across a problem with Premier Pro (editing software) that had me ready to pull my hair out. I ran through my personal network and couldn’t find the answer – so I posted an “Advice Needed” ad on Craigslist. I got a half dozen responses, and the next day a young Peruvian kid came over. For a hour, he provided me with a ton of tips and solutions I never would have found on my own. But for the record, I gave my neighbor a heads up that I was hosting someone from Craigslist  – and I am happy to report he was perfectly behaved.

2. Ideology is important, but I’m an Independent. I was so immersed in the editing that I never did my homework on how the show was going to be received. When I finally got around to a Google search for info on the airing details, I found a rush of media coverage, some positive, some negative. The negative coverage wasn’t even about the substance of the show – the substance being poverty in America and how to engage parents to be more involved in their children’s lives. All media coverage aside, I was on the project to provide a specific skill set – and in return, have a learning experience and exposure to a debate about poverty, parenting, and education in America. As a side benefit, I had the chance to observe and work with Michelle Bernard, who I found to be a passionate and thoughtful person.

3.  I would love to do this again. It was so exciting to be a small spoke in a large media production. Tonight at the airing (I am back home now, at the trusty Dell) I got such incredible energy from the crew and the audience. It reminded me of when I shadowed MTV VJ Kim Stolz during the Inauguration coverage, and uploaded blog posts from my iPhone while the crew filmed stand ups.

I know deep down my new media reporting ambitions have set me up for a steep and ambitious climb. But if there is anything I can take away from the individuals who were interviewed for the show tonight, nothing is out of reach. You just have to believe.

Watch highlight clips from the show at AboutOurChildren.MSNBC.com.

Or check out my web video series here, starting with this one from a young Mother and daughter in Baltimore.

Last week for better and for worse, millions of Americans descended on Washington. Yet the scene was much different from the Inauguration.

An estimated 700,000 Americans were bussed in from across the country to send such constructive messages (sarcasm) as “You Aren’t Really a citizen,” “You are more dangerous than Osama “and told cameras that Obama “intends on doing what Hitler never could do…destroy America” from the inside.

The Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party was organized by the Freedom Works Foundation.

I’m sorry I couldn’t be at the tea party, due to other freelance commitments, but I’m so glad Max Blumenthal was. Check out this excellent citizen journalism report.

I always get a calm smile and an invitation to film whatever I like.

Here is part three of the Hunger Strike series. Each has been considered for, or has been, aired by CNN:

Previous Reports:

Unwelcome at the White House, August 9, 2009 Currently 2, 315 views, 35 comments

Hunger Strike at the White House: Day 19, August 17, 2009 Currently 1, 404 views, 83 comments

Here is the second part of my series on the Hunger Strike at the White House. As I wrote on my Facebook page,

There is a common thread I can’t ignore as I continue to cover this story about a minority group in Iraq that is now a target of violence as the US prepares to pull out: minority groups of all kinds, gays, MEK, Kurds and more – are all likely to… become victims – as the majorities are given arms to establish Iraq as their own.

Here is the video. Let me know what you think.

You might not have heard of Camp Ashraf – so if that’s the case, let me fill you in. In the 1980s, a group of Iranians, the People’s Mojahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), rose up against the Iranian regime. They demanded democracy and engaged in armed opposition of the government of Iran.

At the height of the opposition, some 3,400 members of the PMOI, also known as MEK, were placed in Camp Ashraf, just north of Baghdad. In 2003, when the U.S. invaded Iraq, the MEK were all disarmed, in exchange for the U.S.’s protection of the camp. Now, as the U.S. pulls out, the MEK are vulnerable – unarmed, and targets of decades of animosity from the Iranian regime.

Two weeks ago, the Camp was brutally attacked.

“It means that after everything America has done, Iran really has the upper hand in Iraq,” Zahra Amanpour, an Iranian-American, told me.

What is the U.S. going to do? Do we have a responsibility to the MEK?

And with that, the support for “The Truth” started to pour in. From @EvanSummers, a young political activist wrote:  “That seriously is one of the most direct and scathing insight on the state of the industry that I’ve read in a long time. Well done.”

From a web producer and social media guru working inside mainstream media, I got a simple, “F*ck Yeah.”

From a DePaul University (and a Suma Cum Laude in the Journalism school), Molly Horan, I saw that she linked to me and urged her Facebook followers:  “YOU NEED TO READ IT.”

But perhaps the best conversation came late last night, from a talented freelancer in Washington, who G chatted me to say she valued the piece. We agreed the conversation was one we “need to have” but that, with the recent loss of Walter Cronkite, we are both reminded that for them, there was at least a path. For us, we are searching for a way forward without much support from those before us.

It reminded me of this. Something Helen told me right before I went to the RNC last August. “This is the most difficult time I have ever seen for a young person to enter the business.”

All I could do was let silence fill the room, and then I asked, “How can that be? Even compared to what you went through?”

“Yes. Even more.”

It is true. We have our challenges ahead of us, but as I told my friend over G Chat, the greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity and reward. So let’s do this and fix this problem together.

Since MTV ended, I have had a ton of offers to write/produce for free. I get it. I’m young in my career. I should be willing to work for free or little cost. But seriously? It degrades what I’m trying to do: prove that real journalism, real information, can’t be found solely at the keypad on my computer.Sure, I can build sources, I can research, read other perspectives. But I can’t go out there, attend a hearing, get reactions at a rally…get a soundbite that actually informs the direction of a national dialogue or changes the perspective of a student, a voter, a President.

While working full time for free, hustling for stories and uploading all the time to iReport, HuffingtonPost and TrueSlant  sounds great, I am a pragmatist. And I’m not about to jump ship, leave my day job, without knowing who is steering us to a better place. To a journalism that doesn’t deny the possibility the Internet brings. To a journalism that admits many jobs will be lost but many more created.  To a journalism that wants to embrace web 2.0 to inform the public to make better decisions. Why, with all that is at stake, are we not there yet?

One of the first times I interviewed Helen Thomas, I told her I considered her the first “blogger” in the White House. I don’t think she was expecting the words that had come out of my mouth. As background, this was back in 2007, when Bush was still in control, and the word “blog” was a sure shot to get my mouth washed out with soap in the wrong company. But Helen listened, and then she asked, “what do you mean?”

I went on.

“In a way, you are. You aren’t trying to kid anyone. You are going for the facts, but you are also going for reactions – and you are putting yourself in the question. Your peers are totally shocked. They don’t know what to do with it,” and thought to myself, “except ignore you.”

A while later, I was at a happy hour with a bunch of people who worked at ABC, NBC, CNN, etc. A senior White House producer from one of these major networks asked me about Helen. I answered by asking her why people in the Press Corp didn’t follow up on Helen’s questions, the ones that were so OBVIOUS, like, Mr. President, are you certain Iraq has WMD? Why do intelligence reports contradict? Do we torture? You know, the basics.

The Producer’s answer? “She makes us all uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable? What a waste of a press pass. Someone who seeks the truth makes the Press Corp “uncomfortable.”

Why does this matter?

As important as the niche, bulldog blogs have become inside the Beltway, mainstream press is still mainstream press. People from Indiana to Idaho are still busy, focused on raising families or farms, paying bills or the doctor. They don’t have time to do their homework. So they turn to comfortable brands, like network and cable news. The same places that proved in the run up the Iraq war, that they were comfortable reporting what they were told, and uncomfortable looking for more.

But we all know what asking tough questions in recent years has brought Helen. Animosity from her peers. A cold shoulder from a President. A status as a “has been.” Between you and me, she does care that people attack her work. But she also tells me this, “You don’t go into this business to be popular.”

Perhaps that is what we are all afraid of. Not being liked. Or even better, not being rich. Honestly? I’m past it. This democracy is in need of truth. It is in need of a financially vibrant system of press. One that can be trusted, competitive, and open for debate. And above all else, run by people who get the fact that the Internet and technology will make journalism better off. More informed. More conscious. More like Helen.

**After careful consideration, I decided to tone this post down. Everything in here was important to say to strike up a conversation and the edits I made, like removing a four and a three letter word, were minimal. It is tough being my own editor but I subscribe to the notion that it’s never too late to correct your work.