After graduating from College of the Holy Cross and acclimating to Worcester in the mid-1980s, Ernest “Ernie” Floyd decided to make more opportunities for youth to express themselves.
At the time, there was a negative connotation about the city’s young people. Many would gather in their off time at the Worcester Youth Center, where “they were being attacked like no one’s business, almost kind of similar [to] the ICE situation,” said Floyd, who now runs 97.9 Unity FM Radio in Worcester. “Just coming in, starting trouble, trying to take people out. … All the young people wanted to do was just to gather, and have a place of their own and just have peace in their lives.”
He used his position as an advertising salesman with a local cable company to change what young people saw. In 30-second to one-minute promos, he saw an opportunity to integrate the community.
Several organizations began asking him to serve on their boards, including YOU, Inc. After agreeing to join the youth organization’s board, Floyd thought about how he could inject media into their services and the community as a whole.
In part to help raise money and in part to provide more opportunity, Floyd launched the nonprofit organization, Pride Productions, Inc., which “empowers communities by providing platforms for creative expression, education, and media literacy” in 1994.
Despite community resistance while pursuing a brick and mortar space — from residents who couldn’t get past teens’ negative reputation — he partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester to create a safe haven for at-risk youth.
From a new Multimedia Clubhouse, he hosted youth multimedia training activities and produced the talk show, “Youth Unity.”
It was a welcome change for the club, which previously would lose their teenagers around 14 or 15.
As the organization grew, Floyd led major success in the Worcester community over the years, while teaching essentials of conducting interviews and shooting and editing shows. From receiving numerous awards, successfully obtaining the FCC license to operate a lowpower radio station on air (WUTY 102.9 Worchester and streaming on WUTY.org), and relocating its operations and collaborating with Becker College, the production company has worked with close to 2,000 youth.
“What inspires me to do the work is the fact that I get the chance to see in the moment, to empower young people, to allow them to express themselves. People like the arts, people like the culture, people like to be creative, people like to be inspired, and not only be inspired, but if they’re able to also have the tools and a wherewithal in the tutoring and the mentoring to go along with that — it’s very powerful,” he said, adding that several alumni have mentioned the difference it made in their lives, with some going on to obtain doctorates.
Last week, he saw a LinkedIn post from one former youth about Rev. Jesse Jackson. Youth Unity had enabled her to meet and interview him for Youth Unity, decades ago.
Under his direction, his youth have had the privilege of interviewing high-profile guests when they arrive in the city, such as Common, the Worcester Red Sox, Chuck D, the Harlem Globetrotters and many others.
He also believes it’s crucial to teach youth about media literacy and creative expression skills in the age of social media, where messages — whether false or true — are spread so quickly.
Floyd advises Black entrepreneurs who may want to launch nonprofits that amid all the highs and lows, the work must come from the heart. Matching dedication with service to the community is the sweet spot.
“The longevity is where it comes in: the times where you feel as though that no one’s going to come to your program, times you feel like customers are not coming through your door. The time when you don’t feel like you’re relevant,” Floyd said. “But if you believe in who you are and you believe in that audience that’s out there that you wish to serve, the reward will be…when they come to you and they say, ‘Hey, thank you. …I’m glad you were able to start this and do this.’”