Archives for category: justice

February Freebie: “Not for Sale” Audiobook

February 2, 2009 //

Christianaudio, which is a great site run by a friend from San Diego, offers a free audiobook each month that you can download.

This month, the featured free audiobook is Not for Sale by David Batstone. David leads the Not for Sale movement dedicated to ending human trafficking and slavery.

I encourage you to support Christianaudio. They feature a wide variety of audiobooks, including a couple of free talks from NT Wright and Dallas Willard, that will help you make it through your rush hour commute!

Categories books, faith, freebies, justice

Art in the Streets

January 26, 2009 //

I’ve always been intrigued by the subversive, immediate, and sometimes jarring nature of street art.

Banksy‘s work on the West Bank powerfully conveys a longing for freedom, regardless of one’s political perspective.

Sometimes, street art can be subtle and/or whimsical — for example, The Kiss by Leon Reid IV in London would be easy to miss. Works like this, titled Eat Out, rearrange everyday items in thought-provoking ways.

This street sign, though fake, rings true (at least for me, with my deer phobia).

I recently read about something called The Pedestrian Project, which brings street sign characters to life in unexpected ways (although for sheer awesomeness, it’s hard to beat Robocop emerging from a television to consume fried chicken).

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We hope to capture some of this spirit as we raise awareness about human trafficking with The Freeze Project, which will be coming to San Diego soon (stay tuned for details).

Categories art, communication, design, justice

Get Out the Vote

January 6, 2009 //

Reports say tickets for President-Elect Obama’s upcoming inauguration are being sold for anywhere between $20,000 to $40,000. I heard a radio report awhile back that mentioned hotels have long been sold out in the DC area for the inauguration, and local residents are offering the barest of bare-bones accomodations (read: you can set up a tent in their cold, cold backyard — and no restroom facilities) for $100/night.

Change.org has been running an online competition for ideas to change America. Change.org will then launch a nationwide campaign to support the top ideas and will present them for the full consideration of the Obama administration.

Charles Lee, co-founder of JustOne and lead cultural catalyst of New Hope Church in the LA area, has made it the final round of voting. His idea is to build more shelters around the nation dedicated to helping victims of human trafficking. Here’s the full description:

In light of the recent growth of awareness and practice of reporting human trafficking suspicion around the country (which has resulted in more rescues and arrests), I would like to see our government help fund a national media campaign to build more trafficking shelters around the United States. In addition, our government could also award some of our private, recognized service providers with funding for building and operating shelters for trafficking victims.

You can check out Charles’ blog here or vote directly at Change.org to help build more trafficking shelters. I strongly encourage you to raise your voice and help this worthy idea rise to the top of the list.

Categories community, faith, justice, missional

Justice is What Love Looks Like in Public

October 22, 2008 //

… one of many thought-provoking quotes from Cornel West in Call+Response.

[Seriously, every phrase the professor utters in this film is fully loaded with meaning — I was still trying to catch up three or four sentences later every time he spoke. His exposition on the idea of “funk” as it relates to the muck, mire and beauty of humanity is particularly compelling.]

Call+Response is a musical documentary film about modern-day slavery and human trafficking featuring artists such as Cold War Kids, Imogen Heap and Moby (more on the music below) alongside notable figures such as the aforementioned Cornel West, Madeleine Albright and Ashley Judd.

The raw stats, if we care to come at them in any realistic way, are sickening and overwhelming:

27 million people enslaved today — more than at any other point in human history
Human trafficking as an “industry” earns more annually than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined (in the neighborhood of $32 billion)

The film’s title is a play on the antiphonal music — the call and response — created by American slaves which gave rise to spirituals, then to the blues and, eventually, to rock music. Music made by an enslaved people to reclaim their dignity.

Read the rest of this entry »

Categories church, community, faith, family, justice

Can A Shirt Change The World?

October 8, 2008 //

…So asks the Gap (Product) Red campaign.

While there has been plenty of skepticism about the effectiveness of such movements, I believe there is something positive about at least attempting to make a difference. I might be a little bit skeptical of massive corporations attempting to cash in on our better instincts, but here are a couple of smaller organizations who are raising funds for worthy causes through the sales of t-shirts.

Rosa Loves

The sales of each of their shirts goes to meet the specific needs of real people in local communities around the world. For example, they raised money to buy a new walker for Glenda in West Augustine and a boat for Made in Indonesia. Currently, you could provide scholarships for kids in Bangladesh or college students from the village of Yalalag in Mexico.

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Yellow Bird Project

The Yellow Bird Project embodies what I love about the indie rock ethos — a community coming together to give back. Artists like Stars, The National and Wolf Parade design shirts and direct proceeds to causes closes to their hearts, including well-known organizations like Amnesty International and Greenpeace, along with smaller groups such as Art for Change and Safe Space.

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JustOne

Charles Lee is a founding member of JustOne, a grassroots nonprofit raising awareness about extreme global poverty and “provoking compassionate ideas and intelligent giving in order to provide sustainable relief.” Support the cause by picking up one of these stylish One Voice to End Slavery shirts.

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Shirts for a Cure

Fans of the Warped Tour set can also support a worthy cause through shirts: “The Syrentha J. Savio endowment (SSE) was established by punk-rock photographer Mark Beemer in 2002. SSE provides financial assistanct to underprivileged women who cannot afford expensive breast cancer medicine and therapy.”

Categories indie, justice