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Sylvester Brown Shares What's Possible 'When We Listen'

Sylvester Brown discussed his vision for engaging area young people on Wednesday's "St. Louis on the Air" with host Don Marsh.
Evie Hemphill | St. Louis Public Radio
Sylvester Brown discussed his vision for engaging area young people on Wednesday's "St. Louis on the Air" with host Don Marsh.
Sylvester Brown discussed his vision for engaging area young people on Wednesday's "St. Louis on the Air" with host Don Marsh.
Credit Evie Hemphill | St. Louis Public Radio
Sylvester Brown discussed his vision for engaging area young people on Wednesday's "St. Louis on the Air" with host Don Marsh.

Seven years ago, writer and community activist Sylvester Brown founded the Sweet Potato Project in north St. Louis to promote urban farming and provide entrepreneurial skills to underserved youth. Brown’s involvement in the project has now led to his newly released book “When We Listen: Recognizing The Potential of Urban Youth.”

“Working with young, black kids for the past seven years has exposed me to the hard truths and long-lasting effects of generational poverty, hunger, homelessness, psychic trauma, low sense of self, lack of all-encompassing love and more,” Brown said in a press release. “This was the motivation for writing this book.”

Brown, who is a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist, discussed his vision for engaging area young people on Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air with host Don Marsh.

Listen to the full discussion:

St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Alex HeuerEvie HemphillLara Hamdan and Jon Lewis give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Evie Hemphill joined the St. Louis on the Air team in February 2018. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English literature in 2005, she started her career as a reporter for the Westminster Window in Colorado. Several years later she went on to pursue graduate work in creative writing at the University of Wyoming and moved to St. Louis upon earning an MFA in the spring of 2010. She worked as writer and editor for Washington University Libraries until 2014 and then spent several more years in public relations for the University of Missouri–St. Louis before making the shift to St. Louis Public Radio.