From the Office of ‘Citizen America’: To Bring Change in Each Classroom, Company, Community and County/Parish Along the Way for a Better Nation

Is the new school year gonna be cancelled? “Betta not” were the words from parents who’ve been dealing with the upheaval since Covid-19. “It needs to” were the words from those who feel 2020 gotta be cancelled. There’s been so much ups and downs, sad news and painful situations that they’ve had enough.

Those who’re just ‘sick & tired’ about the social reckoning, have taken to the streets with energized protests. Some are sick & tired of getting unequal treatment as citizens. Others are sick & tired of their businesses fighting to survive. And many others are sick & tired of being on lockdown due to Coronavirus.

But there’s an even deeper concern that you hear that’s been around for decades. People are just fed-up with fighting those dehumanizing aspects of discrimination and racism. They’d like to think that since we were able to move past slavery, that we need to figure-out as a nation how to have racism be “cancelled.”

How we achieve change depends on the concern at hand. In the context of ‘hometown rebound’ and returning “back to life better” we might take a page from events like the American Revolution and Civil Rights Movement. That’s the approach the See America In Color (SAIC) social-edge campaign/platform has developed in Project “Strong 2 Strong”. It includes, the Declaration of Emergence, the ‘ARISE’ public policy initiative/legislation and a new way for individuals to forge their American Dream.

What we’ve learned from American History, the ‘Black to America’ story and Hometown Strong comebacks informs the SAIC Essay Contest and Friday Night Flights programs. Maybe you’re among those who’re sick & tired of marketing buzzwords or hashtag branding. You’re looking for social shifts or structural change the way tech companies went from black & white to color TV, DOS to Windows or flip phones to smart phones. We can apply those change lessons to social/civic issues to achieve:     

1. Smart Blocks

Think about how traffic signals have improved over the years. They now can sense when a line of a cars is waiting, or you can squeeze a ‘button for change’ when waiting in the crosswalk. We can have smart blocks when protesters don’t get sucked into skirmishes and clashes that lead to violence. We can have smart blocks when residents consider whether they want a community fueled by crisis, cruelty and chaos or one served with calm, compassion and competence.   

2. Conscious Brands

With growing social awareness some companies are becoming more conscious brands. These days we may need a kind of double-consciousness that takes us back to W.E.B. Dubois. For blacks, double-consciousness means an awareness for how you see yourself as citizen and how the world sees you as black. For whites, they’ve never had to wrestle with a double-consciousness. They’ve been ‘privileged’ with seeing themselves as citizens, and as white by default. Whether you’re black or white, with SAIC folks get to develop the double-consciousness of social impact and civic empowerment.     

3. Strong Brass

The metal brass is a combination of copper and zinc. The term ‘brass’ is used to describe the leadership ranks of a police force. It also provides a fine touch in homes and music. Well, to bring change as a nation, we need to have strong brass as a winning combination. In police departments we need to have strong leaders and good patrol officers. In sports that means strong starters and bench players. For biz that means strong executives and mainline workers. For schools that means strong teachers/staff and student body. For communities that means strong elected leaders and citizens. Add to this a fine touch and the combination makes us #HometownStrong.   

4. Great Beauty

A black & white TV works by projecting a stream of white light and varying the intensity of the light to get shades of black, white & gray. A color TV works by projecting three streams of colored light (red, green, blue) and combining those streams into the beautiful picture we see on the screen. Similarly, with SAIC we’re combining American History, the ‘Black to America’ story and Hometown Strong comebacks into a better picture of civic/social issues for a higher level of citizenship. That’s how SAIC helps to advance social change in making a difference to bring great beauty!  

As schools reopen, they’ll offer the usual 3Rs of Reading wRiting and aRithmetic. We learn at an early age about multiplication and division. SAIC brings the 4Rs (reboot, refresh, reset, revive) for social change. Plus, when applied in a social/civic context with a little ‘smarts’ we’ll see that some folks want to divide and reverse change while others prefer to multiple and advance change. Whether it’s in the classroom, company or community we strive for a higher grade, higher earnings or higher service. While we’re only human (not machines), as citizens we should strive for a higher place towards a better nation.      

You can join the conversation and support our efforts to “See America In Color: With 2020 Vision” at the Facebook ‘Hometown Chat’ Page here http://www.Facebook.com/seeamericaincolor.

Tracks: Jonas Brothers – Only Human – https://youtu.be/kBNt8hYvn8A 

Skip Marley Ft Bob Marley – Higher Place – https://youtu.be/EdkzJ9HBcyM