Before New Profit was founded in 1998, I had the great joy of being part of a small group, affectionately called the “Idea Team,” that was brought together by Vanessa Kirsch to do something that is elemental to effective problem solving: dream.
We often forget in the churn of our efforts that dreams fuel the work of social change. Twenty-five years later, I am still sustained in part by the energy and optimism we created together in those days, as we envisioned a stronger philanthropic sector and a thriving, multi-cultural America.
Today, one of my greatest hopes is that New Profit’s dynamic, multiracial, intergenerational, cross-sector community (the MIC) can come together and find that energy again, adding more vivid voices and textures to the dreamscape. We are students of history and futurists, and we have a deep well of knowledge and experience to draw on as we ask ourselves: what pieces of the dream will we carry forward, and what will we leave behind to enable more liberation?
I often look to music for inspiration, and as fate would have it, 2023 is both the 50th birthday of Hip-Hop and the 50th anniversary of Stevie Wonder’s album Innervisions, which included the iconic song “Livin’ for the City.” And 30 years ago, during my own musical coming of age, came the Tribe Called Quest album Midnight Marauders and its forever anthem “Steve Biko (Stir it Up).” Two tracks that are instantly recognizable when the opening notes and beats drop (who’s hearing those keyboards and horns with me?).
What’s the message for us as we forge ahead and dream about an American Evolution where we build systems that enable all to thrive? The subtext of those songs are just as important as the sonic beauty.
On Innervisions, Stevie played all the instruments (including groundbreaking synthesizers) and led the production process himself, further proving to the world that artists weren’t just dutiful executors of record company formulas – they were empowered beings whose creative vision held the ultimate value. As a manifestation of what this means in practice, “Living for the City” was one of the first mainstream soul songs to explicitly address systemic racism – and it reached #1 on the R&B charts and #8 on the Billboard 100! With Midnight Marauders, A Tribe Called Quest, alongside De La Soul (Rest in power Trugoy the Dove) and many others, were fusing jazz and funk with hip hop and showing that the medium was a vehicle not only for the articulation of struggle, but also for the expression of collective joy and cultural power.
At this incredible moment of opportunity, as part of the short time we are allotted in this long movement for justice, we can first dream about, then activate an American Evolution. After all, evolution is about assessing what’s working, what’s serving us, and letting go of what’s getting in the way of our growth.
We can take on this hard and rewarding work of systems change with courage and joy, knowing that we are surrounded by the beauty, genius, and power of the MIC.
Systems change requires us to walk towards each other so we can eventually stand shoulder to shoulder and walk with each other. To borrow one final phrase from Midnight Marauders: Let’s keep it rollin’.