An Equal Space
Millennials were born with an inherent sense of activism that pushes us to unionise our efforts for basic human and financial equality. According to the new report featured by Inc.com (2019), millennials aren't just trying to change the world, they're altering the very fabric of social change. Boycotting the old success adage of mortgages and fancy cars, and our recent global protests, isn’t all (Michael Dimock, 2019). This seventh sense, coupled with the brains and creatives among us, are unlocking a virtual reality where activism and charity can be practiced and encouraged, seeking out moments to make the world a little better every day.
With the most recent traumas around racism and the global call to justice, there have been many online quizzes and augmented reality tests geared toward addressing one’s inherent biases. A nod to the direction of the future of virtual – and then actual – activism, and the opportunity every humanist has been waiting for: social platforms and online communities facilitating social change that will then leak off the internet and saturate our (offline) society.
And, yes, it might seem pretentious to push for world change as a whole and at the same time, but it’s becoming a closer reality with the availability of social and (even) political online arenas where voices can be heard, opinions shared and positive actions showcased. GoFundMe is a vibrant example of this.
Resources:
Defining Generations, Michael Dimock, 2019
Millennial Life, Kristen Blalik, Richard Fry. 2019. Pew Research Center: Social & Demographic Trends
A New Study of 150,000 Millennials Reveals They Have 10 Surprising Things in Common, Peter Economy, the Leadership Guy. 2019
Activism in Publishing
To Be What I See
There is a long-known apartheid in the literature and books children read. At school and at home children, books are too often void of characters of colour. The limited spaces where these characters reside are the depictions of townships and sub-par neighbourhoods, with legacies of slavery and marginalisation written between the lines of the stories they’re in. Powerhouse publishing companies often publicise their intentions of commitment to multiculturalism and diversity in children’s books, yet there remains a stark difference between the current statistics of published books and these noble intentions. Christopher Myers, alongside his father, Walter Dean Myers, a renowned children’s book writer from New York wrote, “if children don’t see themselves in books, they have ahard time imagining diverse possibilities.”
Be Proactive
Before you buy a book, support an author or okay a set curriculum, consider the following;
-
What role do the character(s) of colour play? Are they the protagonist or antagonist?
-
Are the characters represented in a culturally authentic way, does the book contain racial stereotypes?
-
When you think your child(ren) is not learning that’s exactly when they are ... think through the instructional and entertainment materials you use to reinforce or break current ideas and stereotypes.