What's it like to grow up in DC?

If the first episode ("Intersections") of the new Shop Talk series is any indication, we're in for a profound ride. The first episode

provides intimate, first-person testimonials from three young black men growing up in Ward 8, Southeast Anacostia, one of D.C.'s most underserved communities. These perspectives – captured within an historic barbershop at the intersection of Malcolm X and MLK Boulevards – were created to illuminate quantitative findings on the state of young black men in D.C., which were provided by noted scholars and educators, Dr. Ivory A. Toldson and Dr. Sarah D. Manekin.

The Shop Talk Storytelling Series (http://www.shoptalkdc.org/) made its debut May 28 at the Breakfast and Briefing on Black Male Achievement. The series "is a mixed-media, multi-episodic, storytelling series that examines the varying complexities, challenges and opportunities young people face growing up in our nation's capital."

The event, sponsored by DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, presented the Shop Talk series and data from the black male achievement report.