At a time when we are being pressed to do more with less, when we are somewhat discouraged by the hardships that come along with a struggling economy, it is more important than ever to be creative and innovative. We tracked down a few innovators who use their talents as artists, musicians and filmmakers as the creative means to the end of a more just world. While each of these artists represent a different walk of life and approach, they share a common goal of inspiring change and a commitment to making the world a better place in which to live.

www.vday.org

Eve Ensler grabbed the attention of the world in 2002 when she released the controversial and life changing play “The Vagina Monologues.” Eve interviewed hundreds of women around the world about their bodies and experiences. Stories of abuse, sexual assault, childbirth, relationships, resiliency and strength connected women throughout the world. Eve’s global journey has led her to Sri Yasodara orphanage in Sri Lanka to work with girls who lost their parents in the ethnic conflict that has been going on for several decades, to India and Pakistan to partner with local women to promote empowerment, to the Middle East, Africa and to cities throughout the United States in an attempt to make the world a more just place for women and children. This year Eve launched a 22-city tour to raise awareness about the V-Day movement, talk about her new book, Insecure at Last and build momentum for V to the Tenth celebration, strategically held in New Orleans in an effort to put the city back on the map in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. We caught up with Eve at Saint Mary’s College of California to find out what drives her, what her source of strength is and what her secrets are.

What drives you? 

“I follow my instinct and heart. Sometimes people are afraid to speak out or do important work, because they worry about what other people will think. You have to decide, do you want to be liked or do you want to change the world? (I choose the latter).”

Where do you get your sense of strength? 

“All of these people,” Eve said, pointing to the twenty members of the college cast. “When I look at the beauty, courage and love that is in this group of women, I am reminded why I started. When we can stand together in the face of violence and be non-violent, it is truly powerful.”

In the face of adversity, how does Eve push forward in her social justice work? 

“I feel angry a lot. I work out; I lift weights; I dance. I can’t pretend that I’m not impacted by the stories I hear (about the injustices that women face in today’s world). At the same time, I’m looking out at all of these amazing people that participated in V-Day.”

Whether we recognize him as the man behind “Puff the Magic Dragon” or as the Peter from the renowned group Peter, Paul and Mary, the now 70-year old Peter Yarrow has captured the hearts and minds of children and adults of all generations throughout the world. We’ve all speculated about whether Peter’s infamous “Puff the Magic Dragon” is in-fact about a dragon or if it is cryptic language for something else. As it turns out, Peter Yarrow co-wrote the song with Lenny Lipton in 1959, about the process of growing up, while adjusting to the fact that they were ending one chapter of life and embarking on the official journey of adulthood. Inspired by his progressive Drama and English teaching mother, Peter developed an empathetic and compassionate heart at a young age. He chose folk music as a means to share his vision for global peace, unity and human respect with the world. Today Peter travels extensively throughout the United States and Asia sharing his music and his Sterling published book version of Puff the Magic Dragon and works to build unity between folks from every walk of life. We caught up with Peter, on his stop at Minneapolis Barnes & Noble to find out more about the man that has been a source of inspiration now for decades. We discovered that while Peter is an amazing musician on his own and inherited a compassionate heart from his mother, it is his daughter that inspired him to make his message accessible to the next generation.

What role did your daughter play in inspiring you to reach a new generation with your music? 

“My daughter Bethany (known for her group Bethany and Rufus) is a very special musician. She mixes folk music with other types of modern music, instruments and drums. I always went to her concerts to help with the sound and then she’d invite me on stage to sing along with her. The songs they were singing were traditional, but had a fresh energy and perspective. It made me realize that I could take the songs that were important to me and give them a freshness and a vitality. Had it not been for my daughter’s exploration of the new perspective on folk music, I don’t think I would have considered (doing the book project). It would have just been Peter, Paul and Mary without Paul and Mary; now it is something special.”

Your message seems to especially resonate with intercultural families and people from demographic minorities. How do you feel about that?

 

“It has always been like that. The tradition of folk music has always been the embodiment of the human spirit; it is never categorically political, although it has always had a sensibility to that. It is about community and acceptance and it addresses real life issues that people are experiencing. There is a way for us to honor and respect each other and to celebrate our separate ways of being. There is a magnetic attraction of music (and I love the idea of) having a multinational audience and embracing each other (in celebrating our differences).” 

When thinking of what we can do to change the world, it is easy to get “stuck inside the box” or become overwhelmed by a seemingly impossible task. In the immediate post 9-11 era when a record number of South Asians fell victim to acts of violence and hate, a group of musicians got together and devised a plan for peace. The idea was simple; to empower the youth of the world through music. Project Ahimsa’s Robin Sukhadia, who was raised in the United States, discovered the tabla during early adulthood while on a trip to India. Robin never parted ways with the instrument. He travels the world, sharing the art form with children from impoverished communities in India, delinquent youth in the U.S. and folks from every walk of life who are willing to use the tabla as a lens to see a great form of music and culture. Robin’s mission is to inspire people to think and act outside of the box and imagine new possibilities of life through the tabla.

What inspired you to study the art of tabla drumming? 

“My dad always had Indian music playing in the house, while I was growing up. When I turned 22, I studied abroad in India and took my first tabla lesson. There was nothing written down for me to follow, but instead there was a particular way to sit, to breath, to show respect to the teacher, to concentrate and to use the instrument as a meditative tool. I knew that by studying the tabla, I could learn more about my roots and my culture than I could ever learn by reading a book.”

How do you use the tabla to inspire social justice and to teach people to think outside of the box? 

“I teach tabla to at-risk kids around the world. I work with poor kids in Calcutta, kids who have grown up in the midst of a religious conflict in Gujarat and juvenile delinquents in Colorado. The children in India learn to concentrate better. Hindu and Muslim children learn how to create music together and become friends in the process. Teens in Colorado learn life-coping skills and learn to appreciate a new culture and new ideas.”

www.mediafactory.tv

When Northern California Public television station-KVIE approached Marissa Aroy and Niall McKay about creating a video story about Sikhs, the two accepted the challenge as an opportunity to explore a new culture. The two began by visiting the Sacramento Gurdwara (Sikh temple) to put themselves in the heart of the cultural gathering place. As they sat on the temple floor settling into their surroundings, the two felt as if they could have been in India as they watched families show up in traditional wear, hearing Punjabi conversations all around them. Then, the sound of the horn of an SUV brought them back into the moment. The film, though less than 30 minutes long, addresses the whole range of roles Sikhs have taken on in their transition out of India and into the United State. From fields to convenience stores to high-end enterprises, Sikhs have carved a niche for themselves within mainstream America, often saving pennies to accomplish the American dream and transition from employee to business owner.  Marissa and Niall demystify the traditions of the turban, the beard and longhair (which are often mistaken by mainstream America as part of the Islam tradition) and introduce the 5 Ks of Sikhism: Kesh (uncut hair for both men and women), Kanga (a wooden comb for maintenance of the hair), Kara (an iron bracelet), Kachera (cotton undergarment as a reminder of modesty), and a Kirpan (a sword worn as a sign of bravery). The duo tactfully demonstrates how the culture has held its roots while blending into mainstream American society. Their efforts were rewarded with an Emmy award in the spring of 2008. We caught up with the team to find out what they learned on their journey to Sikhs in America and about their choice to use film as a means to sharing culture and promoting understanding. 

What stereotypes did you hope to conquer with the film?

 

MA: “On top of the physical characteristics of being Indian, you have men who have unshorn hair covered by a turban and facial hair.  I think there's this instinctual feeling of difference that, for some, turns to fear, mostly a fear of the unknown. For the documentary, I felt strongly that we had to conquer this fear by looking at the hair, the turban and the significance of unshorn hair to the Sikhs.”   

There were several charming stories about the importance of owning something rather than working for someone (an extension of the American dream), saving up $40-50,000 over the course of five-six years and then investing it. What could mainstream Americans learn from this?


MA: “I think mainstream Americans have never forgotten how to work hard. It's puritanical ethic that is ingrained in us, but many of us struggle to save money. We've lost ourselves to easy credit and the seduction of shopping. The hard working, money saving people we met while making this documentary inspired me and made me look harder at my own spending habits.”

What would you like viewers to take away from your documentary?

 

NM: “It is simple. I’d like them to realize that there are many different types of people living in the U.S. and that there are many ways to live a good, happy and prosperous life.”

What is the most important lesson you learned while making this documentary? 

 

“Before making the documentary, I knew almost nothing about the Sikh religion, so I learned a lot. Most importantly, the basic rules to love god, earn your living honestly and share your wealth, seemed like good guiding principals for any religion or race.”

Michael Franti's song "Nobody wrong, nobody right," says it all when it comes to defining his approach to peace. Through the medium of music, Franti and his band aim to inspire people to envision a world free of war, anger and hatred. He pushes people to get beyond the blame game, consider all perspectives, avoid judging and simply lead by example. Each year, Franti hosts an event called "Power to the Peaceful" at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco with the likes of Ziggy Marley and Cheb i Sabbah that attracts as many as 50,000 people. He also travels the world extensively, listening to the stories of people on all sides of the spectrum. Here's some of the insight he shared with us.

What is the most important lesson you've learned on your journey as a musician, a humanitarian and an activist?

 

“We don’t have to choose sides. We don’t have to be on the side of the Iraqis, Americans, Israelis, Palestinians, Croatians or Bosnians. We can be on the side of the peacemakers. There are people all over this planet that are willing to take incredible risks for the sake of peace. We don’t always have to express our opinions or convince someone else that we’re right and they’re wrong. We get closer to creating real bonds and real peace when we try to create solutions that take into consideration the other side.”

As a musician and an artist who has given his life to the cause of social justice, what do you see as the most effective and strategic way to demonstrate peace or to inspire change?

 

“In order to most effectively communicate the message of peace, I can’t be in the street throwing bricks through windows of McDonalds or setting cars on fire. I want to encourage people to not only become peace demonstrators but to demonstrate peace and to be peaceful in the way that they do that. At large gatherings—peace concerts and anti-war rallies—most people are peaceful and some people feel like there are other ways to communicate their message (through violence), and unfortunately kids that were rioting are what ends up getting media attention. And then we have police who are trained in combat, and it’s exciting for some of them to arrest people, beat them up and then cart them off to jail. (So, it is important to be mindful of the way that we demonstrate peace.) I attended the protests during the Republican convention in Minneapolis and I was there to demonstrate peace, to show people that you can raise your voice and be heard and create a ripple effect of peace. At that particular event it was really sad to see 118 people be arrested, but I feel like the tens of thousands of other people demonstrated peace in a beautiful way.”

Film Producer Marilyn R. Atlas has captured our minds and hearts with off-the cuff, fresh and real perspectives that other Hollywood producers and directors sometimes shy away from. A school-teacher-turned-artist and avid world traveler, Marilyn knows that there are multiple experiences and perspectives in the world and using the medium of film, she is determined to make those accessible to the masses. She first got our attention with ‘Real Women Have Curves’ (starring America Ferrera from Ugly Betty), cleverly looking at cross-cultural body image, beauty standards and life experiences; and is in the midst of raising funds for a film called ‘Suburban Turban’ which promises to give the mainstream a look at what it’s truly like to be a Sikh American in mainstream society today.  

You focus heavily on 'out of the box' ideas, films that make culture accessible. What makes you so passionate about making culture accessible to others?

 

“I believe that there's been great richness to my life, as a result of my desire to see the world beyond the prism of how I was born and brought up, specifically as a privileged, white, middle-class woman of the western world. As a curious child, I often read National Geographic, which instilled in me an interest in seeing Asia and Africa in particular. I was intrigued by the ‘other’ and wanted to find a way to penetrate the ‘other,’ to see what I would learn from the ‘other.’ Undoubtedly, the extraordinary people I have met in my myriad travels have helped me to appreciate diverse cultures. My travels have reaffirmed for me that there are stories that need to be told, and that it’s my ‘job’ to find them a home in the marketplace.”

What do you wish that mainstream Americans could realize about the value of opening up to new ideas, cultures and ways of life?  

 

“On the most basic, rudimentary level, one of the things I realize when I travel is that people who live in a limited, isolated way don’t see the great variety and complexity of people that exist in the world. I wish that mainstream Americans had a greater appreciation for the beauty that lies in these differences and complexities.  I would like to think and believe that mainstream Americans can see the way travel opens one’s eyes to the world, forcing one to see things as they really are instead of as one envisions them to be.  Even when I’ve traveled to third-world countries with tremendous deprivation, I’ve been increasingly touched by the powerful sense of family, tradition and faith the people have. Travel is a cure for narrow-mindedness. I travel to grow, to challenge myself, to appreciate the world. I travel because I learn both about the external world and about myself. I find that I am broadened with a greater appreciation of the world.”  Back >>