JANIELA MCKINNEY
College Student Speaks for Millennials on WVON Show
Written by Cesar Morales
Edited by Breanne Somach
It’s almost 11:35 in the morning. Janiela McKinney, 19, stands near the doorway of the sound booth at WVON 1690. It’s a small space with windows looking into the recording rooms and sound systems carefully adjusted to their correct settings. Posters of prominent black leaders and notes stick to the walls surrounding them. McKinney is about to join Perri Small for her radio show’s millennial segment and jokes with her producers and Small before the show begins. One producer searches YouTube for a song to play in between breaks. Small and McKinney head over to the recording room and adjust their headphones over their heads. The music plays and McKinney situates her sports jacket. Small pulls the microphone toward her face.
“It’s WVON 1690,” she says. “This is ‘The Millennials’ and tell our listeners what we’re talking about again,” Small says as she throws the conversation to McKinney.
“We are talking about the hypersexualization in media and music,” McKinney says confidently.
Janiela McKinney at the WVON studio. Courtesy of Cesar Morales
As a journalism student at Daley Community College, McKinney is eager to use her talents to spread knowledge to those around her. McKinney has learned to love and accept herself and she wants to do the same for other women and girls. She wants to help them, mentor them and educate them. According to McKinney, nobody can take your knowledge.
“Once you light a fire in somebody to motivate them, let them know whatever you want in life is attainable, there’s nothing that can stop them,” she says.
It hasn’t been an easy journey for McKinney. Throughout elementary and high school, she struggled with low self-esteem and bullying. It was constant and draining. There was never just one moment that has stayed with her—it was the bullying, both physical and verbal, as a whole.
“I remember it was the first week I had transferred [to a new school], this boy threw pencil shavings on me and I got up and I punched him,” McKinney says, laughing as she recalls. In a later grade, another boy had tripped her and she got up and punched him too.
With McKinney’s struggles came a revelation. She realized what led these kids to bully her the way they did: the media, which was feeding kids the “definition of beauty.”
“Once you light a fire in somebody to motivate them, let them know whatever you want in life is attainable, there’s nothing that can stop them.”
Janiela McKinney
McKinney says beauty is thought to be “someone who has ‘perfect’ features, the photogenic ones.” However, she thinks beauty is a lot more than that.
“For me, I personally believe that beauty is a self-defined word,” she says.
Once high school started, things began to change. Although she was still bullied, she met friends who accepted her for who she was and she knew there was more to beauty than what people saw in the media.
It was during this time that she got involved with Ladies of Virtue. Members of the group had set up a table at her church, and her mother insisted she go meet them.
“My first thing was no. I mean, I have sisters and I didn’t really have the best run-ins with females, so I’m like, ‘Okay I don't want to deal with anything like that,’” McKinney says.
Nevertheless, McKinney was willing to give Ladies of Virtue a shot, a decision she doesn’t regret. Although she still dealt with her struggles, she grew as a person.
“I really don’t know where I’d be without Ladies of Virtue,” she says. “I grew in confidence, public speaking. I grew mentally.”
Janiela McKinney at the WVON studio. Courtesy of Cesar Morales
Part of what McKinney did as an LOV mentee was create projects to raise awareness for issues she was passionate about. For her final project, McKinney focused on the effects of social media on self-esteem and body image. She called her project “Barbie Me Not,” and even created a Facebook page to post statistics from her research findings.
Ladies Of Virtue taught McKinney and other girls about career building, morals and networking skills—everything someone needs to know, according to McKinney. She also credits Jamila Trimuel, the founder of Ladies Of Virtue, for her growth and for supporting her.
“To this day, we have a strong relationship,” McKinney says. “She was always there. She was the sister connection I never really had. She’s one of my role models right next to my mom.”
McKinney plans on continuing her work to help empower young girls.
“What I want to do is make sure that every little black girl knows that they rock,” she says. “It’s not just a black girl issue but also a minority issue, and then of course at the end of the day it’s a woman issue”
The radio show is coming to a close. The segment is over and it is time to hang up the headphones.
“Thank you so much and a job well done,” Small says. “We will see you next Thursday, how about that?”
“Sounds great,” McKinney responds. It’s 11:58.