IN OUR NAME 2007: Be the Change

In Our Name 2007


--Ayodele "WordSlanger" Nzinga, MA, MFA


As an artist I find inspiration in my lived reality. I am moved to find ways to help us interpret our now. In 2003 when I heard the cry "Not in Our Name" the country teetered on the edge of war while in the inner city we were already at war. Unemployment was high, schools were failing, crime stats were up, incarceration was and is disproportionate and devastating in our community, and we were and are murdering each other at a staggering rate. The toll was 103 that year in Oakland. In the midst of all this I was prompted to consider what it is we do stand for.

In an effort to answer that question The Prescott Joseph Center For Community Enhancement sponsored a forum called In Our Name in February of 2003.

The forum was composed of a group of artist, community members, and activist all concerned with the state of the Nation in the Nation. These artists performed in a healing circle and everyone discussed ways to seek equity and upliftment for those trapped in the crossfire of the inner city. We tried to approach the situation with positive measures. We stated our intentions, what we stood for, what was in our name. This was a call to the Village to pay attention, to be mindful, to become engaged.

We revisited the idea in 2004 in a more academic fashion. We stated our intentions. We were sincere. The murder rate dropped that year, a total of 88 homicides in Oakland in 2004. In all honesty I doubt we had much of an effect. Not that we were not earnest in our desire to find solutions. We were as hungry for answers as any of the other dozen or so groups who staged similar events. We were doing our part. We were paying attention, we were mindful, we were engaged. But were we effective?

In 2005 the murder rate began to creep back up and 2006 tells us the painful truth. Nothing has changed. Some things have gotten worst.

In 2006 there were 148 murders in Oakland. 40 per cent classed gang related; this is consistent on both a State and National level. Rather than this being endemic to Oakland this is symptomatic of a National epidemic. We must do more than pay attention. Something is very wrong here. This cannot be in our names; this is not the legacy any of us envision. How can we address this in a way that works rather than simply paying lip service to problems that are literally killing us?

How do we make a difference? How can we make change?

That is the motivation for In Our Name 2007.

I invite artists, youth and youth service providers, community activist, academics, visionaries, families, survivors, those at risk, educators, and everyone committed to change to help find the answer.

In our various configurations we have diverging focuses that cover the range of our needs. I ask that we come together with the common focus of survival to conceive and prioritize projects that we can collaboratively achieve that will make a REAL difference.

I offer In Our Name 2007 as a place to start.

If we want change we must do what we have not done, we must be that change.

How do we get stakeholders to support current life affirming programs?
How do we get stakeholders to realize they are stakeholders?
Do these programs address the issues?
What are the issues?
Do we need to create other venues for this change to occur?

How can we collaboratively construct what it is we need to save, our families, our communities and our possibility of a future?

What do we collectively stand for and what difference does it make if we cannot make change?

In Our Name 2007 invites you to be apart of the solution.

On February 24 & 25 starting at 11:00 AM each day the Prescott-Joseph Center For Community Enhancement, 920 Peralta St., Oakland CA is providing the venue for a series of work-shops, presentations, small talks, forums, and performances to inspire and inform us in our consideration of solutions.

This is a collaborative event. I am donating my services as a facilitator to coordinate the event. Prescott Joseph Center is donating the venue. Anyone wishing to present, perform, facilitate workshops, donate food items, or other in-kind services should contact Ayodele WordSlanger Nzinga at WordSlanger@gmail.com or call 510-208-1912 for additional information.

This event is free to the public; refreshments will be available for purchase. All forums and workshops are free of charge. Youth service providers and Youth run advocacy groups are encouraged to present and or display information regarding their services. I urge everyone who reads this to contribute energy to this event, forward the email, attend the event, present, refer a presenter or a service provider, tape and share this event, perform, come and grieve and create with us, do something.

In my opinion there are only two places to stand in this world. You are either part of the problem or you are part of the solution. There is no innocence in standing silent as children kill each other. Nor is there any safety in waiting until the trouble is on your own doorstep to realize they are all our children and this is everyone's problem.

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