(Part 3) The Hometown Effect of ‘Field Work’ to Impact a New Season of America: Making Waves from Coast to Coast that Move Us to the Next Level

In the blink of an eye, America went from a moment of cheering to one of jeering. First it was with news of a perfect game in major league baseball by Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán. Such a feat happens few and far between. Then came word that the Supreme Court struck down Affirmative Action with a 6-3 vote. The pendulum swing in emotions was like going from elation to frustration in one swoop.

Not much time or editorial room here to get into the weeds on the rise and fall of Affirmative Action. Just know that there’s lots of personal experience from yours truly with the matter. Those who’ve been following the rise of SAIC know it was born out of a series of national news stories that led to a deep dive in American history, the ‘Black to America’ story and #HometownStrong comebacks. Add to that my own immigrant life story and I’d summarize things as follows:

• The fact it took 232 years for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as a black female to be on the Supreme Court proves the ‘why’ for Affirmative Action. Unfortunately, it took so long because America sees black women first by race, then by gender. BTW, did you read her powerful dissent?
• Affirmative Action should be understood as a remedy for disadvantages of past history, and as a guardrail with ‘checks & balances’ that ensure present and future balancing of advantages.
• A broad view of 14^th Amendment clauses is: “those who’ve historically been disenfranchised should have equal protection so their rights aren’t denied or dreams deferred.”
• If we get rid of race as a colorblind factor, does that mean we’ve gotten rid of ‘race supremacy’ or ‘white signaling’ as a color-complex dilemma that’s existed throughout America’s history?

Some folks tend to say race is not a factor in socio-economic disparities. They use that mindset as an excuse to then say there’s no need to have race be a factor in the remedy. But even beyond those key points, Affirmative Action is to black history as Immigration is to American history. In other words, in the same way that the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 made it possible for many like me to come to America (my first visit in 1979), Affirmative Action made it possible for more of us to have the chance to make bigger contributions to America. What’s wrong with that?

Just think, without those two policies you’d probably not be hearing about See America In Color, a social-edge campaign/platform that connects the dots across hot-button issues. So what does it all mean? How does this affect the college campus, job openings, promotion chances or a new season of America? Well funny you should ask. We can take a page from history to help chart the next phase in America’s story. With folks popping bottles as fireworks light-up the skies on Independence Day, let’s zoom-in on some of the ‘field work’ that it’s gonna take to make waves from coast to coast.

By highlighting certain lessons from the past, we know there were those whose focus was on expanding “Life, Liberty and Happiness” ideals. In some respects, they exemplified the ‘movement of a people’. In addition, as time went by some understood that “when America tries to forge more inclusion by extending rights to new groups, others tend to have anxiety and there’s a kinda ‘backlash response’ to reverse progress.” So SAIC’s “J.A.M With Us” rollout (join a movement), like the abolitionist and civil rights periods before, or similar movements of the past, is about how we:    

1. Instruct the Times

Two phrases infused the civil rights movement: (1) We Shall Overcome (2) I Have a Dream. The first was a rallying cry to keep fighting for job opportunities, voting rights, social justice, better housing. The second taken from Dr. King’s March on Washington speech which focused on economic evangelism, social activism and hope over skepticism. The slogans helped to instruct the times such that we’d meet the moment and not miss the mark as a nation. SAIC’s ‘Mojo in America’ slogan (make our journeys one) serves a similar purpose. It connects Independence Day on-paper to our better days in practice.    

2. Disrupt the Game

America is indebted to the ‘Black to America’ story, not in an arrogant way, but historical way. That’s what Dr. King might have meant about a ‘promissory note’ returned as insufficient funds. Plus, the Affirmative Action ruling could be seen as trying to balance sibling squabbles or rivalry. One (white) child feels the other (black) child gets the attention. Parents try to give children equal opportunity, not necessarily same route. Sometimes, they’ll have to put their foot down or recognize if a child’s dealing with issues of self-love, self-identity, self-image. So America, sometimes a movement is a way to put our foot down and disrupt the game (while calling out issues of hate & bias, etc).   

3. Inform the People

Just like there’re dueling sides to sibling squabbles, there’re dueling sides to the culture wars we’re currently seeing. One side seems to want to confuse or inflame the people. The other side wants to inform and inspire the people. One side is about ‘government of the people, by the people and for the people’. The other side is about government of the ego, by the ego and for the ego. Some say education is the dividing line between race and class issues. Well, SAIC believes civics is the dividing line between conspiracy and democracy, between ‘Old America’ and ‘Mojo in America’.   

4. Empower the Nation & World  

Affirmative Action was ruled as unconstitutional. What gets overlooked is it was designed as a constitutional remedy to America’s past of slavery, sharecropping, segregation, etc. Furthermore, a few years ago the Court struck down parts of the Voting Rights Act by removing sections that required federal government pre-clearance before making changes to state voting laws. We saw what happened in many state legislatures adding more restrictive laws. From the time of our founding, we learn that the movement of a people is often about empowering the nation through better governance and perfecting the Union.  

So, did the Court’s ruling instruct the times or miss the moment? Their decision is gonna be studied for years to come. Meantime, what we can do is disrupt the game where some use race as a wedge-issue in political campaigns but object to the use of race as an edge-issue to level the playing field. Bob Marley once sang about the ‘movement of a people.’ Well, how ‘bout focusing on how we inform the people in ways that hone knowledge and boost self-love, not distort the truth? They say success is a journey, not a destination. Let’s get moving in the ‘hood, ‘burbs & countryside on ‘field work’ for a new season of America!    

To find out more about ‘America from 0 to 250’ and the Civics & Community Forum Series or how you can “J.A.M. With Us” (join a movement) in civic engagement, social change and community life, checkout the Signup Center below.

Tracks: Nupah – Self Love – https://youtu.be/uveBMpCfgAU

H.E.R. – Journey – https://youtu.be/bTWftRNdU3w

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