A retro move for an online age: Charlotte students start magazine for activism
During the rise in social media activism among teens, Morgan Lee’s avenue for young people to make a difference is in the pages of a magazine.
Lee, a 16-year-old junior at Mallard Creek High School, is the founder of Wisteria Magazine — a student-run publication that serves as a platform for marginalized groups to share stories, experiences and feel represented.
“I always felt passionate about injustices I’ve faced and witnessed,” said Lee, who launched Wisteria in May 2020. “With the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the mainstream media last summer, I felt a newborn passion to make change.
“(It’s been a way for us) to strengthen our presence in the social justice sphere, build business and communication skills, as well as make impactful donations to communities in need.”
Lee’s team is mostly based in and around Charlotte — and they’re all self-taught volunteers.
“As a 15-year-old child, I understandably had absolutely zero experience running a business, filing taxes or making a magazine,” Lee said. “We just love learning more about running this thing and contributing to our communities.”
Lee began assembling the team by gauging interest on Instagram. Spriha Manjigani, a student at the North Carolina School of Science and Math, is the chief operating officer. Miliani Smith, a senior at Charlotte Day Country School, is the CEO and head of marketing. Suchi Jalavancha, a first-year student at Fordham University and graduate of Marvin Ridge High School, is the executive photographer, and Sachi Akmal, a student at Marvin Ridge High, is a writer and product designer.
“Our founding principle: uplift, uplift, uplift,” Manjigani said. “It’s important to us to have an active role in bringing about change in our community.”
‘I’m Asian American’
In the magazine’s July issue, Akmal wrote “The Sweeping Term of ‘Asian American,’” a piece examining the harmful generalization.
“The result of referring to everyone who descends from the vastest continent the same is just further erasure of smaller communities,’ Akmal, a junior, 16, wrote. “It flattens out the range of problems faced by different Asian Americans and distracts from issues that need to be solved internally.
“I’m Asian American, but I’m also a second-generation Indian American, and I strive to help both of my communities.”
Akmal and the rest of the staff have tackled various topics that range from the importance of community gardens to climate change to critical race theory and the Fourth of July through the eyes of a Black girl. The publication also accepts submissions.
Wisteria Magazine is available in print, the team creates three issues a year, and some stories are online. On www.wisteriamagazine.org, issues are available for purchase. The staff will soon be producing digital copies to be “more sustainable and accessible,” Smith said.
“It’s so important to me that Wisteria Magazine is a youth-based publication because as a writer I’m free to tackle more unconventional issues and reach an audience my age,” said Akmal, who plays field hockey and lacrosse, participates in bharatnatyam, an Indian classical dance, and watches historical dramas in her spare time.
“Formatting the actual issue itself has been a lot of trial and error. Every time we go into production we learn from the previous issue.”
‘It’s part of who I am’
Smith, 17, and a senior, believes Wisteria Magazine has already become important to the community and its 30 or so team members. The magazine prints at a small, family-owned business out of Phoenix, Arizona.
“Without even realizing it Wisteria has become such a huge part of who I am,” Smith said. “The hours of meetings and planning and editing that go into producing each issue is all worth it when I am able to go hold a copy of it in my hands.
“We, ourselves, are a community — we support one another through everything. ...We are hoping to build a community of voices.”
Added Jalavancha, 18: “Wisteria stands as a consistent, active and inclusive environment for youth all over the country.”
As a Black influencer, Lee has faced injustices. It’s part of what drove the Wisteria Magazine idea. An influencer is a user on social media who has established his/her credibility with a specific audience. They make money by helping promote products.
“The more my account grows, the more brands reach out to me about deals,” Lee said. “Noticing my White counterparts in social media with the same following and engagement as me, receiving higher rates, better deals, or even more respect from a brand is something I deal with on a daily basis.”
Lee said the team wanted to name the magazine after a flower and spent “a good two hours on Zoom trying to figure out what to name” the publication.
Then she remembered her own story.
“Wisteria is one of my favorite flowers,” Lee said, “because my mom and grandma would sing this song when I was little anytime we saw it on the side of the road in the spring.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 2:46 PM.
