Alethea Franklin is the student recipient of the Heartland Journalism Fellowship and a rising senior majoring in psychology and brain sciences, with a minor in writing, all in Arts & Sciences. She is also an executive board playwright with Black Anthology and a Gephardt Institute Fox-Clark Civic Scholar. Her writing explores the impacts of urban planning, design and infrastructure on housing and health outcomes in ethnic communities.
The “Candyman” films have a vision for their critiques of exploitative art. For those overcoming experiences with trauma, art immortalizes both pain and healing. These films have messages to tell the world about both, but they also want to have messages about many things.
Politics behind the scenes remains a mystery to much of the public. I have always felt the inner workings of the political machine were shrouded in mystery. This summer, not only did I peek behind the curtain, but I became one of those cogs.