Showing posts tagged social change
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Duke was one of the first employers to make benefits available to same sex partners in 1994 as a way to be inclusive and supportive of the needs of all faculty and staff, and this support will continue.

Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president of administration at Duke, following the approval of Amendment One in North Carolina. While the voters’ decision is extremely disheartening and causing ridiculous action already, we shouldn’t overlook the statements being made by those opposed to the amendment. Civil rights and social change happen, but often at slower speeds than makes sense. It’s a lost war in NC for now, sure, but by continuing to speak out about equal rights for all people and maintaining fair policies where possible, change will happen (thanks, Mr. President!). NC hasn’t historically been a leader with human rights anyway.

Fair to be cranky about the vote outcome. Good to optimistic that this will not be a precedent for other states. Best to continue and increase the consciousness of civil rights and responsibilities of communities to represent and take care of the people in them.

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If you don’t like the world the way it is, change it—one step at a time. Be prepared for how long change might take and how hard it will sometimes be. Always remember the quote you wrote in your diary after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak: “If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.
Marian Wright Edelman, 72, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, in her advice to her 25 year old self
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If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.
Thomas Edison
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I believe in humanity. I love humanity. And I believe the world will change for the better.

Jacob Biber, Norwich Bulletin, 1985

On today, Yom HaShoah, we remember those who died in the Holocaust, those who worked to protect the safety and freedoms of others, and the stories of those who survived. Most importantly, we pledge to never let such an unfathomable tragedy happen again, and to do whatever we can in places like the Congo and Rwanda to challenge persecution.

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Give me an artistic license so I can sing to my captors in Syria. Let me embroider an eiderdown pillow for the Rutgers gay student to fall onto under the George Washington Bridge. Let me create a magic dragon with a special cape to protect the young unarmed black teenage boy in Florida before he is shot point blank and killed. Let me make a painted shield of protective wildflowers for the 3 Jewish children and their rabbi father killed by the madman in Paris. If a work of art can bring awareness towards changing these horrors let us begin the act of creativity now - It is not too soon!

Karen Finley, performance artist and activist, in a speech made on March 21, 2012 at the opening of Because Dreaming Is Best Done In Public: Creative Time In Public Spaces, which features her 1998 work 1-800-ALL-KAREN.

Words can’t describe how moved I was both emotionally and towards action, and those sentiments were widely present throughout the room. It’s incredible how people can wield words into powerful tools to, in all seriousness, change the world.

Karen, by the power vested in my by nature of existence, I grant you artistic license to keep using your voice to creatively shape public discourse and influence society’s actions.

Atlantic Avenue Subway Station I know graffiti is “just graffiti” and I shouldn’t read into it, but I did. I generally agree with the sentiment here (access to affordable, healthy food should be human right, especially according to the values on which our country was founded), but don’t think it accomplishes anything. Clearly, the intended audience is the government (unclear if it’s federal or state), and someone doesn’t like the inequity between rich people and poor people as status specifically relates to food. This just doesn’t sound productive though; it sounds spiteful and reminds me of an uninformed bumper sticker. Also, who’s even seeing this statement? Was it written out of sadness? Anger? Boredom? Does the door ironically lead to a hidden vault of unspent government money? (Ha!) My only point with posting this is that even though I’m questioning its original intent and effectiveness, it still made me think, which it might make you do, too. And maybe just maybe, one of my readers, or your readers or friends, will find some use for it to change attitudes or policy, and therefore do what no other single statement catalyst has helped our country to do. You just never know. View high resolution

Atlantic Avenue Subway Station

I know graffiti is “just graffiti” and I shouldn’t read into it, but I did. I generally agree with the sentiment here (access to affordable, healthy food should be human right, especially according to the values on which our country was founded), but don’t think it accomplishes anything. Clearly, the intended audience is the government (unclear if it’s federal or state), and someone doesn’t like the inequity between rich people and poor people as status specifically relates to food. This just doesn’t sound productive though; it sounds spiteful and reminds me of an uninformed bumper sticker. Also, who’s even seeing this statement? Was it written out of sadness? Anger? Boredom? Does the door ironically lead to a hidden vault of unspent government money? (Ha!)

My only point with posting this is that even though I’m questioning its original intent and effectiveness, it still made me think, which it might make you do, too. And maybe just maybe, one of my readers, or your readers or friends, will find some use for it to change attitudes or policy, and therefore do what no other single statement catalyst has helped our country to do.

You just never know.

OUR TIME translates the news

  • 41% of Americans believe that young adults have been hit the hardest by the recession.

  • Only a third of 18-34 year olds rate their financial situation as “excellent” or “good.”

  • Young adults working full time have median weekly earnings of $448, about 6 percent less than in 2007.

Why we should care: The prospects for our generation appear bleak, with income declining, high joblessness, and significant debt from credit cards and college. Even older generations agree that we’ve been dealt a lousy deck of cards.

(via today’s Translation)

OUR TIME uses, facts, brevity, and wit to summarize current events and news in ways that provoke dialogue and potentially catalyze action. It’s going to be the next big thing; I’m calling it now. Join the movement!

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Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.
Henry Ford

Kari Saratovsky - the originial @socialcitizen - launches new strategy consulting company geared towards millennial engagement

KDS Strategies provides solutions to national and local organizations with a focus on innovative program design, strategic communications, and social media strategy development, all with a unique understanding of next generation engagement. From KDS’s first blog post:

With your help, we will begin to fill this space with authentic conversations that inspire generosity (giving and sharing of new ideas, platforms and approaches) with a fun and refreshing approach.   My focus at least for now, will center on how the rising generation of Millennials are driving change in a way that we have yet to fully see or appreciate across our institutions. These changes are due in large part to the rapid advancements in technology – but there’s also an entrepreneurial drive and desire to find meaning in our work that is playing a large part in how Millennials are influencing the organizational culture of institutions.

I think Kari has tremendous ideas and influence throughout the social good-driven world, and I’m looking forward to seeing the projects that her company signs on to. I’m guessing that the blog part of her page, too, will provide high-level, engaging commentary and conversation surrounding key issues, so you heard it hear folks… follow it!

Pay attention. This is going to be big.

There’s a pretty great new website called www.wethelobby.com. You should probably share it with all of your friends, because it’s a model that might actually make a decent dent in advancing important arguments for and against proposed legislation. It gives a productive megaphone to the 99% who can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars to have their own lobbyist on the hill, because let’s be honest, access to our government officials by individuals isn’t as simple as it should be. And, lobbyists are the chief educators outside of each officials staff, so their voices (mostly) have credence. They know how to talk so legislators will listen, and can finesse an argument in a way that an unexperienced advocate might not have the knowhow to do.

So how does it work that you get represented by a legit lobbyist in Washington about an issue that you care about by only contributing whatever amount you can? The model is powered by crowdsourced funding of causes nominated by fellow contributors. Similar to the Kickstarter model, a fundraising goal is set, people contribute any amount towards whatever cause(s) they want, they only pay their pledge if the fundraising goal is reached, and those causes that complete their fundraising goals move forward to lobby. While Kickstarter’s projects are almost all a physical product, We The Lobby’s product is to make sure a strong lobby on ill-represented issues is supported. Simple. Smart. Hopefully successful.

I love this type of pragmatic social entrepreneurship, and look forward to watching it take off!

In the Fight Against Poverty, It’s Time for a Revolution

I am so proud to be a long-time LIFT volunteer, leader, advocate, and supporter alongside countless others. To really understand some of the thing I value most and dreams that I fight for, please read this article. The work LIFT has done throughout the years and the growth it continues to do is incredible, and this is one of the most comprehensive articles sharing LIFT’s work. Hats off to the staff, client advocates, clients, community partners, and supporters who make it all happen.

The revolution isn’t over, but it has certainly begun.

(Source: The New York Times)

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Don’t worry about what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive and do that.
Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.
Howard Thurman

Wisdom, revamped.

I like both the quote (over-quoted as it is….though is it realllllly hers? and is it really that simple?) and the edits for quite different reasons. Mead’s empowering, idealized sense of communities working together is juxtaposed with Josh Miller’s pointedly cynical (but fair!) snark, which together, are both hilarious and sincerely wonderful. To me, it shows that there isn’t really a single paradigm for change, but that there is change everywhere, and awareness of that change is the first step to figuring out what to do with it. It also illustrates how two people, both with strong socially-aware values, can view our communal environment completely different, and perhaps also therefore illustrates how do-gooders are often too headstrong in their own track of thinking to meet in the middle, which is paradoxical given the importance of communication in any game-changing plan.

I hate that this graph is so true, but it is. It’s a model of inefficient business practices that’s strangely hard to change. Wish it weren’t so, because it’s really hard to find a good balance. View high resolution

I hate that this graph is so true, but it is. It’s a model of inefficient business practices that’s strangely hard to change. Wish it weren’t so, because it’s really hard to find a good balance.

(Source: ilovecharts)

(Reblogged from ilovecharts)
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I do not accept any absolute formulas for living. No preconceived code can see ahead to everything that can happen in a man’s life. As we live, we grow and our beliefs change. They must change. So I think we should live with this constant discovery. We should be open to this adventure in heightened awareness of living. We should stake our whole existence on our willingness to explore and experience.

Martin Buber

A friend of mine shared this quote, and I found it both meaningful and provocative. While it resonates with my own philosophies (as amorphous as they often feel), it’s a huge task to always be eager to forge ahead. Regardless, it’s important to strive for and keep in mind when we try to place limits on our own ambitions or paradigms of thought, because how can we change our world without removing those bounds?

Also, Buber’s ideas of Ich-Du and Ich-Es provide interesting perspective, especially given the context of his life and experience. In some ways, his ideas and trajectory are incredibly foreign; in others, it’s a mirror of my own counterintuitive-but-still-logical inquisitiveness.