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Sunlight-Berkman conference and the future of activism

You can tell by my previous post that technology has been heavy on my mind all this week. Not just technology but the uses of technology that allow people to either keep things same as they ever was or break free into new transformative ground. Especially as I saw them presented at The Sunlight-Berkman Conference on Political Information.

Last Monday at the Sunglight-Berkman I was able to witness some of the most interesting uses of Web 2.0 design practices that have the potential of changing not just the way we view Congress but the way we conceive of governance. Yet nothing, absolutely nothing compared to being in the presence of these two girls : Samantha (on the left) and Bianca (on the right).

People who have heard me speak at conference know what I can do with my oratorial skills. Well, I'm nothing compared to these two girls in action. I was completely blown away by how they just commanded that room and swept everybody away with their presentation of the project they're work as students of the The Center for 21st Century Skills.

Zephyr and Nisha asked us to wrap-up our thoughts with a question. I had two questions, one about technology and the other politics. They seemed to be separate questions but they're very related --and I honestly cannot remember what were my exact words. But they question that is on my mind is simple : does it make any sense to continue developing software and hardware the way people have been developing it if the face of the future is not a while man but of a couple of dark-skinned latinas from Waterbury Connecticut?


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Words to live by

I have been inundated with these annoying, anonymous chain e-mails stating that Whitefolk are trying to sabotage Jamie Foxx's upcoming music show because he refused to put token white performers on the roster. And to foil the success of his show due to his insolent Black pride, they've purposely put him up against 'American Idol'. Is this true? Was Foxx acting with conviction or with racial malice? And regardless, so what? After all, of all the things to clog up my inbox with, why moral outrage regarding a televised music show, of the kind that Blackfolk have been disproportionately visible for years? Why is this what people have chosen to be up in arms about and leveraging the Internet to advocate for versus, say, Darfur, Haiti, Katrina, political corruption, corporate greed, the fight for a living wage, etc., etc.?

Regardless of where you come down on any of these issues, it is quite revealing how and why people respond to media-amplified and -skewed issues -- particularly when laced with race.

Do I think folks are kinda missing the point when they choose to carelessly and thoughtlessly forward unsubstantiated information about something as benign as a televised music show? Absolutely. But as my grandmother always used to posit: "If you're Black and not paranoid, you're crazy."


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