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Help us tell the story of the Miami Valley by writing a letter to the President and sending it to WYSO.Your letter can be written, or recorded for audio or video. WYSO will collect the letters for a special storytelling series this spring.Your letter may be featured on the air! Here's how to participate:Write a letter: No more than 300 words - THEN - follow these steps:Record yourself in audio or video reading your letter out loudSend us the recording. Length: no longer than 90-secondsSend us a selfie/portrait of yourself holding your letterPlease let us know if you need help recording your letterWe want to hear from you, your family, your friends and your neighbors. Email your letter to wyso@wyso.org. A producer may contact you for more information.

Dear Mr. President: Immigration – Make America Love Again

Dear Mr. President asks what you want to say about your community. Today, we’ll hear letters about immigration, a topic that’s generated a lot of controversy since President Donald Trump took office.

Earlier this year, WYSO producers went to 10 Miami Valley libraries to record people’s letters to the president. Many of our writers talked about the Trump administration’s actions on refugees and immigrants.

Some worried for the safety of their friends, families and neighbors. Others saw the president’s policies as a departure from the country’s values of being welcoming to immigrants.

This piece includes some – but not all – of our letter-writers’ names.

Featured letter-writer Dr. Karen Townsend, 54, says, “even if it’s not my fight, I have to have a voice, and I will always be an advocate for those who are not being treated fairly or justly.”

Townsend was recorded at the Northwest Dayton public library. This episode was produced by Jess Mador and features music by composer Sam Keenan. Special thanks to our WYSO Dear Mr. President Library-Day partners.

Jess Mador comes to WYSO from Knoxville NPR-station WUOT, where she created an interactive multimedia health storytelling project called TruckBeat, one of 15 projects around the country participating in AIR's Localore: #Finding America initiative. Before TruckBeat, Jess was an independent public radio journalist based in Minneapolis. She’s also worked as a staff reporter and producer at Minnesota Public Radio in the Twin Cities, and produced audio, video and web stories for a variety of other news outlets, including NPR News, APM, and PBS television stations. She has a Master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York. She loves making documentaries and telling stories at the intersection of journalism, digital and social media.
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