Da Island Guy
Sounding Off Social
A debate has been brewing in America on two battle fronts. While not everyone has the same level of interest or intensity, the battles have caught the attention of die-hard fans and rabble-rousers. Some have been following the ‘diss track battle’ between Drake and Kendrick. The rap feud has got raw overtones with some fans scratching their heads while others treat it like solving a puzzle.
Then there’s a battle on the other front that has dominated the evening news. It’s been a tense few weeks across college campuses at home and abroad. The ongoing middle east turmoil between Israel and Hamas has the ‘now generation’ in a tizzy. Some wanna know why one side seems ‘favored’ over the other side, when famine and unnecessary destruction are the stories of disaster. The other side is fed-up about feeling as if they shouldn’t exist. For either side it’s kinda the same message, just different context.
In a sense, current social protests are like what happened in the 60s and 70s. Back then folks were fighting to dismantle ‘Jim Crow’, advocating for civil rights and warning about nuclear war and the dragged-out Vietnam war. These days the burning consequential issues revolve around the culture wars and the ‘isms and schisms’ that have plagued us throughout history. Back then we dealt with sit-ins at lunch counters. Nowadays it’s encampments on college plazas. Are we missing something?
As SAIC draws-on its research in American history, the ‘Black to America’ story and #HometownStrong comebacks, you’ll find some common elements to the success of efforts that moved us from protest towards perfecting our Union. They include:
- “Calling-out what is, calling-in what can be”.
- Change as part of a social framework within an intellectual setting or with spiritual fervor.
- People finding their voice and taking a stand.
- A new ‘order of things’ from having rattled the conscience of America.
Folks would call out what’s wrong, or not working or weakening our values or just plain old wicked. The movements that helped bring change did so within an enlightenment push. Plus, a key lesson for today’s activists and agitators is in knowing that a ’poverty of vision’ results in making noise without making moves. Moreover, remember that “an overdone steak is burnt, while a well-done steak is flavorful”. In other words, we’ve gotta go from encampment to empowerment and ensure that the energy and passion displayed doesn’t dissipate like smoke after a fire.
If we look back to events of the past that made a difference with living in America, you’ll find a shift occurred in the culture. For example, a shift from spreading racial animosity to pursuing racial equity, from political maneuvering to vision building, from being limited to seeing America in black & white to seeing America in color. So, if we’re gonna go from encampment to empowerment, here’s what might help turn the mess into a message across campus, main street and country with the help of:
1. Administration (upset or explain)
There’re times when a child misses the mark. How we handle the situation might vary on a case-by-case basis. Off-the-charts behavior might call for some serious punishment. A few choice words or slap might even show up out of nowhere. But sometimes, the situation requires that we do less to be upset by how we holla and scream and instead do more to explain how they live and learn. We’ve all had our own growing pains but eventually made a shift for the better. As the saying goes, “you live life forward and understand it backward”. At the end of the day, it’s about turning the situation into a teachable moment.
2. Media (inflame or inform)
For media outlets, it’s often about ratings. What’s the number of eyeballs they can attract/keep with their programming. But there’re other forces at work since the shift from free-tv to pay-tv. With free-tv the competition was based on how well they informed the public. The more in-touch folks felt about the happenings at home and abroad, the more loyalty to a station. Plus, there were fewer channels then. Since pay-tv, the competition seems to be about how some inflame the public. It doesn’t take much to inflame (doesn’t take much to cause upset). But SAIC’s vision to inform and explain helps impact change.
3. Business (tune-out or level-up)
They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. For some when it comes to social issues, the sense is “what happens out there, stays out there”. That mindset bleeds into disinformation or decisions that lack foresight. After events of the past few years, some businesses made a shift to help employees level-up in civic engagement and social impact. Recent protests are reminders that issues hit close to home. Sports leagues have gone on record about doing more with players and fans so that it’s not just about the game but also about us as a nation. SAIC’s take is that it’s gotta be about bringing more #MojoInAmerica.
4. Community (exhale or engage)
There’s a time to complain and be upset. But we can’t simply exhale without thinking about how we engage. That’s one reason for SAIC’s efforts at developing Campus Solidarity Day (aka Breakout Day). It takes a page from what we see in sports where Draft Day for athletes and execs is an exciting time for the brand and love of the game as an athlete/league (breakout the champagne, breakout the dreams). Well, Breakout Day for students and administrators will be an exciting time for social impact and love of the culture as a citizen/country (breakout the fun, breakout the teams).
Throughout history, the American project of impacting change has been about how we “call-out what is and call-in what can be.” That’s no different in these days of street protests and college encampments. It can ruffle feathers to call out what’s wrong or not working or weakening our values or just wicked. But to make shifts happen we’ve gotta look at how we explain vs exclaim, inform vs inflame, level-up vs tune-out and engage vs exhale. In the words of James Brown on ‘Living in America’, we gotta work “hand in hand, across the nation…yeah we got to have a celebration.” It’s a matter of truth or dare.
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Tracks: James Brown – Living in America – https://youtu.be/c5BL4RNFr58?si=CRKp1i5pno1HF9UV
Tyla – Truth or Dare – https://youtu.be/boOWyGnGYxs?si=_iO9CKygHUIyo0ZC
See America In Color 