We have given somebody a massive amount of control. Also its twin, someone, and the other all-powerful entity, they. As in “look what they did” or “how could they do that” and “somebody should do something about that.” Somebody and they seem to be in charge of everything, and all of us are helpless in their wake.
Actually, using those designations gives us room to distance ourselves from the challenges we face and the responsibility to change them. They are the masks we wear to disguise our fear and resignation.
The only real, effective and empowering pronouns with any kind of agency are the first-person singular and plural pronouns, I and we, respectively. They place the onus squarely on us and our ability to respond in the present moment.
So, as we are deluged with gargantuan political and social changes from them, here are some examples of what we are doing one step, one person, one company at a time.
We Are Pivoting
In response to the administration’s slashing of millions in funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, New York Public Radio has launched the Station-to-Station Programming Project. It’s a new initiative providing the station’s nationally syndicated programs free of charge to financially vulnerable public radio stations. The $10 million project offers programs like Radiolab, On the Media and The New Yorker Radio Hour to stations struggling with funding cuts.
We Are Reinvesting
Earlier this month, African American Democratic strategist and CNN Contributor Ashley Allison purchased The Root from G/O Media through her company, Watering Hold Media. The Root, an online publication, was founded in 2008 by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and former The Washington Post Publisher Donald Graham. The publication intends to have a much stronger voice in the media landscape to address issues of critical importance to the country and Black America in particular.
Rashad Robinson, former Executive Director of Color of Change, has launched Rashad Robinson Ventures in 2024 to provide strategic solutions to foundations, nonprofits, corporations and political organizations. He recently debuted How We Win, a newsletter about creative approaches to effective change.
Pocketbooks are picket signs. Check-writing is activism. And the failure to write checks is activism, too.
Remember how long it took for Jimmy Kimmel to return to the air after the suspension of his late-night talk show? Just three days. But long enough for Disney Plus to feel the impact of millions of Americans canceling their subscriptions to the media platform.
Sometimes, though, it takes longer for the economic impact to be felt.
The national #TargetFast boycott, initiated last spring, had a measurable impact on the retailer. Target’s foot traffic, sales and stock price took a dive, and its CEO was replaced. It was not the full desired results but enough of a success to add an electronic boycott at Dollar General (DG).
Why? DG sells highly processed foods in food deserts and does little business with farmers and local vendors. It hires part-time staff to forgo providing benefits. And its reach? Seventy-five percent of Americans live within five miles of one of DG’s 22,000 stores (more than Target and WalMart combined), primarily located in underserved communities.
Boycott supporters are encouraged to stay away from DG, as well as to email, call and post on social media, especially if DG is their only local option.
We Are Giving
What is the largest source of philanthropic giving in the US? Individuals, who contributed $374.4 billion last year, representing 67% of total giving. When considering generosity relative to income, African Americans give the highest percentage despite a persistent national wealth gap.
That’s you and me, giving the small to medium-sized amounts that provide sustenance for the organizations that help us and others on our behalf.
As we enter the annual season of giving to those we love, those in need and those we support, may March On! be among your list of worthy recipients.
This year, many of our past corporate sponsors have departed. Some have stayed on, giving anonymously or in smaller amounts. Yet the need for our work as a cultural arts, history and justice information platform has only increased.
We unearth the mistold and untold stories of the Civil Rights Movement, the story of all of America. And we use the full range of creative expression, because our stories cannot be separated from the words, images and music that shape us. Activism takes many different forms — in the streets, in the voting booth, in the picket line or the wallet, in print, on air or online. In support of or against. We can each decide our method, and what is listed here will not be enough. But act we must. The survival of our freedoms depends on it.
March On!
Isisara Bey, Artistic Director
P.S. As a native New Yorker, I’m celebrating our new mayor, Zohran Mamdani. As a first-generation American with Guyanese parents, I echo that line in Hamilton: “Immigrants — we get the job done.” For those who have said voting doesn’t make a difference, here is another example of the falsity of that statement.
Is our mayor young? Yes, time for a new generation to rise up.
Will he make mistakes? All the others before him have.
Will he face opposition? Yes, from the highest national levels. And as he said in his election-night speech, “To get to any of us, you’ll have to get through all of us.”
