Speaking out, creating change

Many of you have been following the developments about the effort to bring attention to two reggae artists who are notorious for their lyrics calling for the murder of gay men. The effort became a big story in the media and a hot topic of conversation in many circles. The most amazing story, however, has to do with how it all got started.

A few weeks ago, an activist saw a poster on a New York City subway car advertising an event called Reggae Carifest. He was informed enough to know that two of the headliners for the music festival were notorious for their anti-gay lyrics. He sounded the alarm and more activists and organizations, including the Task Force, joined to take a stand against the perpetuation of music that promotes homophobia and violence. The group of activists got on the phones, spoke to other activists and a coalition was formed to format a response.

Last week that response was rolled out. It involved a strong media campaign to explain the issue; it put pressure on the event sponsors; and it included organizing a rally at the event.

I am happy to report that once again a small group of activists was able to make a huge difference, and once again the Task Force was able to support the work of activists organizing to take a stand for our community.

The coalition’s work forced Clear Channel Broadcasting to withdraw its sponsorship from the event late last week. It is refreshing to think that, in this day and age, a small group of people can indeed change the minds of a large corporation. Along with Clear Channel backing out of the sponsorship deal came an increase in media attention.

The media interest materialized at Saturday’s rally when every major New York City news outlet was covering our protest. Being a feature story on every major New York television news cast boosted our capacity to bring this issue to attention of people on a large scale.

I must also take this opportunity to thank you, the readers of the Task Force blog, for generating much conversation about this topic. Your chatter along with similar responses from other community created multiple opportunities to educate people on this issue.

The other great accomplishment of our work is the synergy that was created by a group of people crossing paths to work on an issue such as this. There might very well be a new grassroots group that emerges from this effort and that is a great thing for our movement. It is fantastic to know that there will be a voice to systemically combat the spread of this music.

These are just some of the great things that have emerged from this effort — and it all goes back to one person noticing a poster and then building a team to take a stance.

People witness harm to our community every day, and often no action is taken because too few people know how to fight back. This is one of the many unique jobs that the Task Force takes on in our movement: teaching people the skills they need to take a stand and organize effectively. We continue to teach people organizing skills because having many people with this knowledge is the only way to achieve full liberation for our community. We know each one of us can truly make a difference.

Want to share your thoughts about Zaheer Mustafa’s blog entry?

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Wednesday, 8/29/2007, 10:53 PM (EST)

Mustafa's August 28 blog is very welcomed news. In an age when the average guy feels powerless against big money, big corporations and big shots it is empowering to learn that even a small shout can still have loud overtones.

Jim Guinnessey
West Palm Beach, Florida