Voices We Love

January 4, 2015

Letters From A Change Agent #selfforgiveness

Happy New Year! Time for a new calendar and new beginnings. Reflecting on the new changes can bring guilt about what we failed to change in the past. The past is a weight that we can rid ourselves of with little energy. Unfortunately we don’t. In any new cycle, we must reset our integrity from what we were unsuccessful at. This reset process is a way to forgive ourselves for what we did not accomplish.

Forgiving ourselves allows us to put to rest our anxiety about not doing what we said we would. Maybe it was about losing twenty pounds, becoming a more engaged employee, or making better communication in your marriage. For me, I have told myself I’m going to create better ways to stay connected to my loved ones I don’t see or connect with as often as I would like. This goal has been on my “resolution list” for many years. I work on it, but fail to meet the expectations I set for myself.

Any new change forces us to handle emotions with the same process. We acknowledge a new change we want to make in our lives and we then remember what we said we would do prior. We often have guilt over what we were not successful at. We must learn to replace guilt with a slight acknowledgement and say, “I take ownership for not doing _________. I will instead now do _____________.” That new declaration is now the concern. We can find a way to hold ourselves accountable for the new claim, celebrate our success, and take responsibility if we fail. Whether we succeed or fail, we will follow the result with a new claim.

It is only us putting the pressure on ourselves. If the goal or task is important, then it should have a higher level of accountability. If it is not, then we cannot torture ourselves. I often feel that my goals, tasks, and ambitions are the makeup of this line of living life. They aren’t always straight forward, and often blur our ability to really live life, or stay on the line, but with personal forgiveness, we can more quickly get back to living life on the line. That is the main goal of us all, to live the fullest and most impactful lives we can. Start with forgiving yourself and make room for the new year.

January 3, 2015

Voices We Love: Spectra

A few weeks ago, the award winning Nigerian writer and activist, Spectra, wrote an article, Dear White People: Stop Unfriending Other White People Over Ferguson. At first, it is unclear how this article is going to frame the situation, but quickly we it is only with love that describes the unique position white people have. These posts are an opportunity to create dialogue and become better allies by effectively communicating the facts to those who see the situation differently. Spectra says it better:

Spectra’s Blog has a lot more to read. Take some time to get to know her. She aims to do activism differently, to awaken within herself and others, the courage, vulnerability, empathy, self-awareness, and unrelenting commitment to personal growth required to heal and transform each other- and the world- for the better.

You can also follow her on Facebook.

December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

Voices We Love: Physics Girl

Physics Girl is an amazing, kick-butt woman who loves science! Project Kinect believes she is a fantastic role model for girls and boys. Physics Girls real name is Dianna and she has the nickname ‘Happy Pants’. She has also worked with some other kick-butt female scientists from MIT and Harvard-Smithsonian Center. For everything Physics Girl, check out the website. You can also like her on Facebook and watch more videos on her Youtube page.

December 5, 2014December 5, 2014

Letters From a Change Agent: #Authenticity

“Right now, these moments are not stories. This is happening. I am here… I can see it. This one moment when you know you are not a sad story. You are alive. And you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder; and you’re listening to that song on that drive with the people you love most in this world. And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite.” This is the final line of the movie adaptation to The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. There are no translations to when we feel authentic. We are authentic when we feel most alive. That is it. Whether it is having a conversation with a stranger in the most wonderful of circumstances, or giving your condolences at a funeral; when we feel alive, we are being authentic.

Often authenticity is paired with happiness. This is not true. I associate authenticity with honesty to ourselves. Until I was honest with myself and came out as a gay man in 2001, I was not living. Before, I had true-life moments of happiness that were authentic, but honesty is where the root lies. I also feel authentic when I am completely selfless. I suppose, to be honest with that statement, I am not completely selfless. I love being useful to others because that is when I am most alive. Fortunately, I found a way to live and travel doing that.

Authenticity is not only about us being authentic in our lives and actions; it is also about society being authentic. We must be able to identify when unjust and inauthentic actions are taken. This is a muscle we learn how to flex and with time, we become more aware of these moments. Currently, injustice and inauthenticity monopolize our lives.

The verdict for the murder of Eric Garner is not authentic. However, the outcry for justice across the country is. We saw what happened very clearly on video. There were not conflicting witness reports as in the Michael Brown case. Not indicting Officer Pantaleo is not authentic because authenticity requires personal honesty and truth, of that, the grand jury in Staten Island obviously lacked.

Today the jobs report came out. Every pundit and many government heads are celebrating this fact. Why? This metric is not authentic. It comes to us during the busiest and most profitable month in the corporate world. Most of these jobs only pay minimum wage and will be cut January 3^rd. There is no real comfort from this number in December. The number that should be reported is how many of these jobs will last for at least six months and offer a livable wage to people living at or below the poverty line. That is the authentic number I want to hear.

I can only leave you with this. Fight when you can against the injustices, and hold those accountable when opportunity arises. The real and authentic struggle is just beginning. It is the holidays so take care of you and your loved ones. Live in that authentic space. We need strength, support, and clear minds to bring positive social change where it is needed.

Happy Holidays! #WAAI

Sending all my love,

Gregg

November 24, 2014November 24, 2014

Voices We Love: Gina Crosley-Corcoran

This last week, Gina Crosley-Corcoran published a fantastic article on Occupy Wall Streets’s website. Gina is a writer, activist, musician, doula, mother of three, and is currently working on her Masters of Public Health in Maternal Child Health. Her website, the Feminist Breeder, is an eclectic website of tools, related articles on inclusiveness and bridge building, and humor to our insane lives; not to mention a recipe or anecdote. It is a great site to get lost on for a bit.

Most recently Gina caught the attention of Project Kinect with her article Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person. Privilege itself has a lot to do with the state of our society. Understanding privilege then can help more specifically understand white privilege. You can read the entire article here.

November 15, 2014

Voices We Love: Cynthia Sylva Parker

Early this month, Cynthia Sylva Parker gave a Tedx Talk titled Racism–What Will It Take To End It? It is an extraordinary twelve minutes looking at racism objectively and giving every person ideas to how they can work on themselves and their own pre-wired brains.

Cynthia Sylva Parker is a Senior Associate at the Interaction Institute for Social Change. The institute is also an organization we love, but that is another time. This post is all about Cynthia and her voice (Click here for the post on IISC). We love you and please keep spreading the word. Project Kinect is here to help!

November 12, 2014

Voices We Love: Teachers

Earlier this week, NPR released a fantastic story on NPRed. The story is called, Five Great Teachers On What Makes A Great Teacher. This article is just a great read for entertainment but also, it will bring “uh-huh” moments and makes us think about our education, teachers we have met along the way, and that teachers all have different approaches. Here is a slice of the article. Check out the entire thing on NPR.

What kind of training and experience makes a great teacher?

Bain: I know I’m going to get pushback on this, but I think one of the major problems we face in cultivating great teachers is that we don’t pay enough attention, especially in K-12, to the learning of the teacher. We should help them develop the dynamic powers of their minds and should continue to do so throughout their lives.

Second, we should help them develop an understanding of some of the major ideas coming out of the research and theoretical literature on what it means to learn, how the human mind works, and all of the personal and social forces that can influence learning. This is a dynamic field with lots of important research and ideas emerging almost constantly, and the training and experience of a great teacher has to include the opportunity to explore, understand, and apply the ideas and information that is emerging.

Finally, great teaching includes the ability to give good feedback and to make assessments.

Jose Vilson: It really depends on the environment around the teacher … with more experienced staff, it’s important to get beyond the humdrum PDs [professional development opportunities] and get into something truly transformative, which is hard to find. That’s why so many of us have to seek out PD opportunities both on and offline on our own time, past the meetings and opportunities provided by our school.

Moore: There is so much in teaching that would be best learned through apprenticeship, rather than the current system of leaving most new teachers to trial-and-error their way through. The teachers who become great or master teachers seek out the help and PD they need as Jose mentions, but I agree with the work of Deborah Ball and others that we know enough about teaching that we can, and should, be much more systematic in sharing that collective wisdom with our newest members.

Also, Ken is correct about the importance of being able to assess student learning and give timely, appropriate feedback. The current overemphasis on test preparation and other misuses of standardized testing have taken much of this critical professional skill out of the classroom and away from teachers.

November 3, 2014

Letters From A Change Agent: #Empathy

Many studies would have us believe that empathy needs to be taught. I believe the contrary. I feel we are given the power of empathy in early development. It is in our DNA to care and feel what other people are feeling. Empathy often empowers us to react for the good. I see it in my nephew all of the time. When another kid doesn’t have a toy or someone else to play with, he takes responsibility for making that child feel better with a toy or his companionship. He is four. He doesn’t know the word empathy but he feels it.

As we mature and society beats us up, we lose track of that feeling. We aren’t aware of when our empathy is telling us to take action. Therefore, we have to learn how to access it. Because it is so hard for our post modern, technology filled society to genuinely reveal our empathy, organizations and campaigns must be extra witty and cunning to use our empathy to take action. Too many resources are spent doing this. We shouldn’t have to be tricked into acting and doing good because we feel someone else’s pain; that action should come naturally.

To thicken the wall between our actions and ability to naturally access our empathy, corporations advertise products to be intermingled with our emotions. That is f***ed up! When did heightened emotional stimulation become the new version of the bandwagon technique? My favorite current example is an American Eagle Outfitters commercial. We are told to cherish our imperfections. Be proud of our imperfection but also buy these clothes. I get it, there are imperfections in the clothes but that does not bring me security.

All the corporations do it. From Coke to Verizon, our positive emotions are being triggered and paired with certain products. Advertisers are so good at it that often, we don’t’ recognize it’s happening. We must be able to consciously say, “that is not really how I will feel with this product” along with, “this is causing me to be less empathetic.” I included a commercial I saw last summer in South Africa. It displays my point perfectly; a corporation that has nothing to do with the inspiration it’s igniting in the commercial.

We are entering the season when our empathy is the main tool for driving sales. As change agents, we must be strong and ask if the empathy and action being produced is authentic? Or, is it being stimulated by some corporation that desires you to leave your family on Thanksgiving to beat the Black Friday traffic? Please be mindful of what is being asked of you this month. We have individual power to take action. This agency can be combined with other people’s free will and real action will happen. We are all positive change agents and no one controls us or our empathy.

October 31, 2014October 31, 2014

Voices We Love: Justin Simien

If you don’t know who Justin Simien is, then you may be familiar with his newest film, Dear White People. The movie is a satire about real issues of race that are very much present in our society. The movie only grazes the issues, but presents it in a humorous and tasteful way. Presenting these issues in such a way sets an atmosphere that will hopefully bring a more inclusive group to theater. Calandra Davis, an activist and soon-to-be contributor posted, “It felt good to a watch a movie that explored real issues and contained complex Black characters.”

Community mobilizing tool: Sometimes the issues need to be dealt with delicately in order to gain other important and invested allies.

Project Kinect loves this film for many reasons. First, it was crowd-funded. This genuine film was created by a community of supporters who wanted to see such a satire made. Second, and it is important to state this again; The film presents the issues in a way to bring more eyes to theaters. Most importantly, this film has been released at a time in our history when we must start having real, constructive conversations about racial tensions, modern racism, and white privilege. If these conversations are not had, then we are doomed as a society and will not continue moving forward as a global leader. The possible actions and reactions if these issues are not discussed and worked on will be disastrous and we will look foolish to the rest of the world. But for now, go see the film.

**Photo credit goes to the Houston Chronicle. Project Kinect loved the picture. Click here to find the whole Houston Chronicle article.

October 22, 2014November 24, 2014

Voices We Love: Girls Preaching Feminism

FCKH8 just released a very affective video where little girls swear a lot and throw gender inequalities in our faces. It is awesome! Children are a great way to sell a product or a scary movie but in an advocacy campaign, it’s genius. We have watched this video so many times at Project Kinect. For every $15 t-shirts sold, FCKH8 will give $5 to other charities helping to fight gender inequalities. The two shirts offered are “Girls just want to have FUNdamental rights.” and “This is what a feminist looks like.” You can also keep up with them on Facebook.