Da da da da da da da da da da da nang.

It don’t matter where we go.

We always find our way back home.

We always find our way back home.

Welcome to Homegrown, where we introduce you to the people and stories shaping the character of life here in Arkansas.

I'm Dawn Scott.

And in this episode, we'll meet young Arkansans who are showing up and showing out.

We'll meet two brothers from Paragould who are leaving their brand on the world of Arkansas livestock, a brother and sister who are finding their unique, powerful voices through creative self-expression.

And we'll look back at the historic live conversation between a group of Arkansas fifth graders and the International Space Station.

But first, the world of sports announcing has historically been a boy's club.

But high school student Lexi Jarrett is flipping the script and finding her voice doing play by play, announcing while overcoming a unique personal challenge.

What's up, you guys?

And welcome to CCHS Live I'm Lexi Jarrett welcoming you to tonight's matchup.

So I always knew that I wanted to go into this sports field.

I just didn't know how.

So I didn't want to play sports because I was not gifted with any athletic abilities.

And that's whenever I realized that I could be a sports analyst trying to find a path to send it.

But she can immediately flip the switch where she is just like camera ready.

They’re going to be moving the chains on t Pass is good to Davies, oh, loose ball and that is going to be a touchdown for your Cross County Thunderbirds.

It’s 11.

So it’s 11?

Twelve time outs in a There's a lot of room to get to.

Use them.

We’re going to use all our timeouts.

I'm the first female sports commentator for the school and I've just always been real fascinated with it.

So I think it's a way to kind of like tell a story and get to show personality through audio.

I would come back with that.

We see Coach Hale, the team's personal hip man hipping everybody up.

She's been doing it since I believe her eighth grade year.

And being an anchor and being, you know, analysis and going on the staff and, you know, each year she's gotten better.

She was a super confident kid.

She likes being in action.

She likes getting to talk to these coaches.

And she is not scared to stick a microphone in someone's face.

Alright what’s up you guys, I’m here field here, with AJ Bell, one of our seniors on your Cross County Thunderbirds football Always researching, always asking questions and always watching her own live feed throughout the week and trying to find things that maybe she could do better.

The live stream is giving her those opportunity just to grow Well, trips is going to be three receivers Bunch is when all three of them are bunched up together.

I'm gonna want to thank Von Trapp a bunch left out of that one this week.

OC Valentin, we're going to hand it off.

I was trying to run up the center there to be brought down.

Looks like around the 31 yard line.

Whenever I first started, I wasn't the best commentator, and the way I would practice was turning on Chiefs games and just commentating it without the audience.

What’s it called when the quarterback changes the play.

An audible audible.

Good.

There you go.

And when she loves something, then and she goes, you know, head over heels, you know, full throttle to to do whatever it is.

She's a one handed catch on the sideline running down to go on freaking Spider-Man.

That the play of the day.

Play of the year.

Play of the year?

Yes.

I'll quote you on that.

You know, she is a story that is unlike any that most people think of when you think of someone, a position like she's overcame a lot in a really short amount of time.

Middle school, fifth grade, fourth grade just the tics that she has started with head jerking, head nodding.

The earliest memory I have was at that time I was at my grandma's house and I remember making this like face.

I really didn't think anything of it, but my grandma was always like, It is fake in that face or you're going to create a habit of it.

And that's whenever I started noticing it.

I didn't at the time to know what Tourettes It was I was just like, Huh, maybe I just have something weird going on.

The biggest challenge is actually like the motor portions of it.

So I had vocal tics in the past.

They're not as prominent now, but my biggest thing is my head shakes.

It looks like I'm agreeing with people a lot.

And so that just really gets in the way.

My neck will get super tired, so I'll be exhausted by the end of the day.

Then whenever I commentate my headset on my SO my mike, you'll hear random things and it's like my mark either touching like my face somehow, or it's driving up and down because my head's moving.

Definitely being tired where things have been said and sometimes they knew, the students knew what they were saying.

Sometimes I just didn't know that she had Tourettes Even though they're not made to be hurtful, those can sometimes really bother me and give me insecure about it.

And I think that's honestly probably the biggest part of it.

It's just having to deal with the little comments that are made that aren't meant to be hurtful.

They just kind of end up that way.

AJ, Looking here trying to find a path... going to send it Being a woman in a sports field, it's something that I'm super passionate about, of wanting to make a change and leave my mark on that field is what drives me.

What Lexie has to struggle with day to day is what makes her so great and what she does.

When that mic comes on like she kind of puts all that stuff on the back burner and she just runs with it.

Make my family proud, and make those that have seen me like go through what happened in the past, what I am now.

I think that's also very motivating.

I think she found her passion.

She's found what she wants to do, and she's going after in full force Signing off from CCHS Live I’m Lexie Jarrett.

Can't wait to hear Lexie on one of the Arkansas PBS sports broadcasts.

Young voices like Lexie's are being heard all over Arkansas, both on the field and behind the mic.

Jamie and Norel McAdoo are talented young artists making music and creating poetry.

They spoke to Arkansas PBS's Epiphany Big to Morrow about using their voices to change their community.

(chanting) We could put out an album of poetry and just showed in spoken word it isn’t just boring and it isn't.

And it isn't something that old white guys do that you read about in class like.

Is entertaining and powerful.

Entertaining and powerful.

Exactly.

That's what I was trying to say.

Dope, and I'm guessing by the last name in the current hair curl pattern.

That's our later, right?

Yeah.

Was a Big Brother show.

So we asked is what first got you y'all into the path where you are now in terms of being creative?

Both of our parents worked at a poetry radio show, so I always like to say it's in my blood.

I remember like my first poem was like in fifth grade, and it was like about my crush or whatever.

And my mom was like, You did not write this.

So since then, like, I've known, I've been skilled with writing.

Then in middle school we learned about desegregation and everything.

And I wrote a poem called I Don't Get It, where it's like, I don't get why they talk about our skin.

I don't get why they think this.

And that kind of started my professional career, I would say, because I got asked to do that at different schools, churches, events go all around this little 11 year old girl doing this very profound piece about desegregation and about how Black Lives do matter and stuff at such a young age.

So I've always had it in me because of my parents, but I think it flourished once I went to middle school.

Poet, published author as well...

I'm also a rapper aka AC Yo No real Apple Music, Spotify.

Everywhere you find my music everywhere I just started doing poetry my junior year of high school and it's crazy because the first poem I wrote, it was about social injustice, racial injustice.

And so like that was like my first three poems that I ever wrote, though that's what the topic was.

So I say, before I was even a poet, I was already trying to use my words for activism.

But I did poetry first, and then he saw I was getting paid and making money.

So then my area and has just exceeded me by winning all of these competitions.

But that's neither.

Here.

CEO So yeah.

Yeah.

So I been kind to you out for a while and especially me in this time being after Paul George Floyd's murder and y'all are being activists all of our lives, do you feel that your creativity has to be shown in other forms in terms of protest or advocacy?

Yes.

I feel like it is very important to to do anything because just doing nothing that just doesn't sit right with me.

So I felt like what was more important to be doing then any type of protest is like, what could I possibly be doing?

Just chilling at home, playing a game, eating something like I should be out here trying to make the country better for the future, trying to make trying to make change happen.

So I feel like it's very important to do anything, whether that's handing out water bottles, you don't necessarily have to march.

You hand out the water bottles, you can make masks for it for our protest as to where you can do what you could do anything.

So many different avenues you can take to help the fight.

And for me, I feel like just being a black girl is kind of in my essence and I've always kind of tried to be an example for people that this is what a smart black girl looks like.

This is what a creative black girl looks like.

This is what a confident black girl looks like.

So yes, with my words, yes, with my performances in the way that I speak at these things.

That is how I've chosen to use my voice in this movement, but also just by being an example and showing other brown skinned girls that you can look like me and not have these horrible stereotypical words associated with you, or you can be more than what they expect out of you.

So I've always been kind of humbled at the fact that I can inspire other people who look like me to show them that there's so much greatness just in who you are.

And that's what I try to live.

my day by.

We're.

Not just speaking for ourselves.

We are the voice for those who feel like they don't have a voice.

So whenever I go up and do a poem in front of front of hundreds, in front of thousands of people, and everybody can resonate with it, That's that's powerful.

That's, that's that's a purpose.

That's something.

This is for the greater good.

Everybody.

When you create now, like, what are your expectations?

Like, why do you create and how do you expect it to be received?

I always write, I always say for myself, for a short period, I did kind of get lost in it and I try to think about my audiences too much.

Like, Well, if I'm posting this on Instagram, it has to be less than a minute to keep them engaged.

It probably should be like this.

It needs to be politically correct.

You don't want to be too controversial.

They get caught up in that for a little while.

But I'm kind of back now to my old gym and I just want to write about whatever I want to write about.

However I'm feeling when I see these videos, I get outraged.

So I'm going to write from that emotion whenever I hear about another death.

You know, I get that.

So I'll write a disheartening piece like I think I don't worry so much about how it's perceived now.

And once I've done that, my writing has been more authentic and it's actually reached people more because it's coming from the heart that it ain't no gun they make.

That can kill my soul.

I feel like I always know what the why is when I write a poem and is just always coming from an authentic place.

I feel like if it's authentic and that's where people resonate with the most.

As long as I'm telling my truth, it is the truth.

It is my truth.

So no one can dispute what my truth is.

Yeah.

So that's why people resonate with it and that's why people like it, because it's just authentic is real.

It's true.

I don't celebrate victories.

They haven't come.

This war is far from won.

This was far.

From my.

Last question to wrap this up, what is one thing from the generation before you that you've got that you implement now?

And what's one thing where you like?

Yeah, that was good for them.

But we do.

Yeah.

Is okay.

We're going to cut this out of like they won't even know.

Yeah, cool.

But one thing that I've learned from the previous generation is, is the action part.

So, you know, there was the bus boycotts.

There were like all of that comes from the civil rights movement.

We did just come up with that.

And my father always tells us whenever we play a song, he's like, You know where they got that from, right?

Or if there's a TV show, it's like, are they copying off with this old TV show?

So nothing is new under the sun.

But I think we should appreciate some of the activist tactics that they did.

And a lot of people think it can be over quick.

Like if you but if you look at history, it took longer like you have to do.

You have to continually put forth effort if you want this protest to actually make a difference and change laws and legislation, which it already is, which is why I think what's going on right now has been so impactful already.

And but we got to keep going.

Like that's what I've learned from them, is that resilience, you know, you got to keep pushing and you can't just think it'll be over soon.

So.

Right.

And we'll just piggybacking off of what she said, I think is always I always listen to my elders.

So like, I feel like you can always glean something from those who come before you can always learn from their wisdom because they've been here, they've done it.

So you should always think and learn something from previous generations because it was it was successful.

We we did get changes made, but we do have more changes to make.

So we have to keep pushing and keep protesting.

No, that's actually cool.

That's a good place and matter of fact, I think you probably going to get some more streams of what you said from that anyway.

So, you know, I appreciate your coming here.

Thanks for what you are doing and ya’ll in for real.

That interview was shot in early 2020.

World has changed a lot since then, but Jamie and Norrel haven’t The McAdoos have been featured on NPR StoryCorps.

While Jamie’s original song Coastin enjoyed Instagram fame.

Let's meet another impressive pair of siblings, Dylan and Thompson.

Phelps from Paragould, Arkansas.

They are making their mark, raising and showing livestock.

I'm Dylan Phelps and we're today were Crowley’s Ridge Classic and Paragould, Arkansas at the GREENE County Fairgrounds.

Me and my brother were kind of born into it.

We've been in barns since we were one and two years old with goats, calves and hogs, all kinds of things.

We've always had some form of livestock.

We had beagles that we raised.

They had dogs that they took care of at the time.

They were, you know, little guys.

You learn all types of life skills within this industry teamwork, leadership, hard work.

I've met plenty of friends all over the nation just showing, judging and all things livestock.

We bought a beef national bull.

Stay with that for a while.

And we learned about gelding cattle.

The cattle main goal has always been to raise well-rounded children, to teach them work ethic and how to take care of things.

We grew up that way and it's something we enjoy as a family.

Our parents both showed livestock on a county and state level, so I know it goes back three generations.

There's a few different level shows.

There's like these jackpot shows are pretty local.

There's state shows like State Fair and AYE and then there's national shows like Cattlemen's Congress, Dixie National Open Show.

It's really big show.

They got multiple barns full of cows, full of goats, full of pigs, lambs, everything you can think of.

Sometimes you get a trophy, sometimes you get a ring, you get belt buckles and just all kinds of things that you can win.

Well, I show market usually I have a steers he shows the breeding breeding stock we get with every raise and the steers you know you want muscle you know muscle and width you know you want a big wide top you want some rib to them you want to look nice on the side and make long front and long necked and tiny higher the shoulder bones, big legs, a lot of hair.

They'll kind of judge you based on how good your animal looks and how good it is in terms of breeding standpoint and structural standpoint.

Keep it all, you know, this medicine free as you can, you know, lower antibiotics and all that.

But you got to have vaccinations to keep them healthy, raise it, you wean it and you get it pretty, I guess you could say, and you feed it, make it look good, and then bring it to the show and see what does.

I like spending time in the barn?

You know, getting them ready for the show is nothing like the day you really, you know, like the most.

When you get here and you get them ready, you don't look in their very best and you go in there and you win a banner.

There's a lot of blue ribbon effect, I guess you could call it.

And it's there's a lot of thrill that goes into it when the judge comes up to you, shake your hand and tells you you won.

There's a lot of emotions going through there because you think about all the hard work that you've put in and how much your family's put into it.

There's all kinds of different things you can do besides just showing and breeding livestock.

And I think that's overlooked a lot because things like FFA in the name, it's Future Farmers of America.

But you can do a whole lot more than just being a farmer and whatnot.

It's not just about the cattle and raising the cattle.

They also do livestock judging, public speaking.

My dad went to college judging livestock collegiately, and I kind of want to go down that same path or scholarships or everything.

You know, there's a LDE’s which are leadership development events you know, and extemporaneous speaking where you get a topic in your 30 minute speech and deliver it scholarships or public speaking.

And then there's stuff like this where you get scholarships for winning big shows.

That's my favorite part of it was seeing them progress and watching how much they've learned.

And you know, what they picked up.

All the hard work pays off always, you know, It's just what you get out.

What you put in is what it boils down to.

During the school week.

Get up at 530, go out, feed the heifers, feed the bulls, you know, get everything taken care of for the morning, make sure if our cows had a calf, that it's healthy and doing well.

And just check on everything in the morning, go to school, come back home, and, you know, do it all again, take care of me, feed them your water and check on them.

Make sure they're all doing well.

Once you get up doctor it, whether it's ice outside or whether it's cold or whether it's hot, it's it's something that has to be done.

Sometimes it's going to be rough.

It's good days and bad days, just like everything else, just like sports.

So you have to learn to prioritize and figure out how to make it to baseball practice, how to get the judge got to start to get your homework.

So, I mean, there's a lot of people that feed once a day after school and don't do anything in the morning but us.

We feed morning and night.

He had a cow home and you take care of it.

You don't feed you don't feed it.

We're supposed to feed it.

You know, it gets a little skinny show up here and you kind of you don't do well 3 b is three brothers calico So me, my brother Thompson and my brother Garrett I'll started this about four or five years ago.

They want it to.

Be three BE because they're three brothers.

I think it's poor.

It's kind of, you know, if you wanna stay in this industry for a while, get your name out there.

You know, when some shows.

Yeah, there's some rivalries like on a baseball field, you know, you could be playing with your buddies in a friendly game.

And if it's a state championship, you're out to win it.

The rivalry between us, when it's our cows that we're showing, you know, we breed those, raise them together.

We're always hoping for the other to win or us to win if we want our cows to do well.

But in showmanship, that's when they judge you on how well you exhibit your animal has always been a rivalry between us.

But there's always that showmanship class that you're judged on your showmanship and how you how you actually present your animal.

And I think there's plenty of rivalry there.

What we've tried to instill in these boys is regardless of who's there that weekend, you're there to help.

It's amazing to go out there and compete against someone you love.

I love it.

I've been in it my whole life and I really can't picture my life without it.

What do they want to be?

Nurses or farmers or doctors or whatever?

This this program prepares them for whatever lies ahead.

It instills a lot of values and instills a lot of work ethic.

And regardless of what direction they go, it prepares them for it.

I hope that we've got grandkids that are here.

So and one day, hopefully a lot of years from now.

But it's a common goal, I think, with most people in this industry where we're trying to raise better young men and women and we're using the cattle to do that.

With the responsibility for raising and showing livestock.

The Phelps's clearly got their feet on the ground, while in late 2020, a group of Arkansas fifth graders made a historic connection to the stars.

A live conversation with the International Space Station.

It is great to be back at Nettleton STEAM and to see the incredible leadership among the students that are here that are problem solving.

This is an exciting day, not just for Nettleton Steam, but for Arkansas, because you have an opportunity to talk and ask questions of astronauts in the International Space Station.

This is the first time a school in Arkansas has been chosen for this honor.

And it's a real testament to the hard work and curiosity.

Of the students.

As well as the innovative ways Steam's educators have incorporated the space program across your entire curriculum.

I can't wait to see.

What you will discover.

The station.

This is Houston.

Are you ready for the event?

Soon as the station.

We are ready for the event.

Houston ACR.

This is mission Control.

Houston, Please call station for voice checks.

Hello, my name is Emily Perez.

My name is Enta Tero.

My name is Alison Lost.

My name is Layla Westbrook.

My name is Brooklynn Wheeling I I'm a sixth grader from Nettleton.

STEAM in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

My question is for Dr. Shannon Walker.

What changes have been observed in the human body during a long duration spaceflight?

You know, it's really interesting how the body changes when it goes into space.

One thing that happens immediately is your spine grows.

We have done a whole series of plant experiments and some of the variables that we find that are really critical for plant growth are the atmospheric conditions.

I think there's two critical skills that people need for a long duration spaceflight.

I think you need to be a really good team player and I think you need really good communication skills.

We’ve researched that day and night changes every hour and a half.

How is this occurrence affecting your sleep patterns?

You know, that's an interesting question because a lot of people do ask that since we do go around the earth every 90 minutes.

But the funny thing is, if you look around us, you don't see a whole lot of windows.

We do have windows on the space station, but we don't see them.

We have to kind of go and look out the window.

So our life up here is kind of like living in an office building on the inside, so you don't really notice the daylight cycles so much.

In in our crew quarters where we sleep, we don't have windows at all, which is really sad.

I would love to have a window and I would like that.

My name is Lila Westbrook and I'm a sixth grader from Nelson's team in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

My question is for Dr. Kate Rubins.

Can you talk about an interesting experiment that you have worked on in space?

Laila I can tell you are scientists in the making.

That is a great question.

You have to deal with all the tools and all the equipment in kind of a different way than we do when we train underwater in the swimming pool.

So I am really looking forward to us wearing a spacesuit that you design some day.

Boys and girls.

You just made history.

Congratulations.

And I'm very proud of your questions.

It is my honor to work alongside some of the most incredible able faculty, staff, and students in this creative learning environment.

Today is your day and we are so very proud.

Nettleton Steam would also like to say a personal welcome to our international partner schools, the school in Johannesburg, South Africa, and our partner school in Mexico.

We are so thankful to you all for joining us in this historic event.

We did it.

Thank you.

Have a great day, everyone.

To the stars and back.

The live downlink with the International Space Station was a once in a lifetime event.

But the students involved were stars in their own right.

They made all us Arkansans proud.

You can see the full documentary on how the school and the community prepared for the big day at the Arkansas PBS YouTube channel.

That's it for this episode of Homegrown.

Thanks for spending your time with us.

And please take a moment to appreciate the people whose hard work has gone into producing this show.

I'm Dawn Scott and we'll see you next time