The Agenda vol 58. - You mad, bro?

Valentine’s Day is a few weeks in the rearview mirror now. As an antidote to all the flowery Hallmark holiday sentiments that have been floating around, we thought you might enjoy hearing about how folks have expertly used communications this month to convey important messages that had parts of the internet seeing red (see what we did there?). In many cases, the backlash only underscored the importance of the message.?

A subtle change to a national anthem gets people talking

Singer Jully Black is hoping an edit she made to the Canadian national anthem at the NBA All-Star game recently will become permanent, to better reflect the nation’s history and the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples. While her lyric change from “Our home and native land” to “our home on native land,” was applauded by many, there was a wave of online criticism from those associated with the Canadian right, who questioned Black’s motivation to make the change. Her move was lauded by prominent Indigenous leaders including Christy Belcourt, Tom Wilson and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, as well as by Public Enemy member and activist Chuck D and many more. The story was covered by most major Canadian outlets, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), and the BBC.?

'I sang the facts,' says Jully Black about 1-word change to O Canada at NBA All-Star game

Anti LGBTQ+ sentiment targeting Drag Queen Story Hour moves allies to action

If you’ve ever attended a drag queen story hour, you likely heard stories about inclusion, gender diversity and acceptance, delivered by big, colorful personalities. Claiming that drag is inherently sexual, conservative lawmakers in the US are honing in on drag queens and their story hours as being inappropriate for children – targeting them with an unprecedented number of bills that would criminalize parents’ attendance with their children, or force venues to register as adults-only businesses.?

Recent backlash against LGBTQ+ rights and drag in the US has sparked a number of copycat protests internationally. In response, several community groups have rallied in support of the story hours when they noticed threats online, turning out to defend the queens and attendees in Calgary, Dallas, Hamilton and Australia from the hate groups protesting them.?

How drag queen story hours became a battle over gender, sexuality and kids

Celebrating Black stories despite America’s efforts to censor them

(Shared directly from Ineye Komonibo’s article, “Banned Black Books You Should Be Reading”)

Activist, sociologist, and author W.E.B. Du Bois once said, “Education and work are the levers to uplift a people,” and he was right. The more we read, the more we know — and the more we can use that knowledge to critique and even revolutionize our world. That’s precisely why, more than ever, we’re seeing such a vicious pushback against books of every genre that were written to expose the evils of white supremacy and give us the tools to create a new, more equitable society. But we can’t let them take our books. This Black History Month, we’re reclaiming our time and our literature, starting with some essential reading that conservatives on the far right want to keep from us. Here are 13 banned books that you should be reading this month.

Banned Black Books You Should Be Reading

From the IRI Community: As we plan our editorial content for the rest of the year, we’d love to know what kinds of stories resonate with you! Take our short survey and share your thoughts.

Check this out: 2020 saw the start of what was supposed to be a major reckoning on race and equity in North America. But how much has really changed? A new report called State of Inequity: Building a Brighter Future for BIPOC at Work examines how Employees of Color, still recovering from the health and economic setbacks of the pandemic, are affected by evolving employee landscapes and ongoing workplace inequities.?

Thanks for reading,

— Ashley Letts, Managing Editor