Team Harmony web series strives to educate and fight against hate

The worldwide non-profit Staff Concord debuted a brand new internet collection towards hate, titled “HATE: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?,” in collaboration with Emerson’s Communication Research Division and several other college students.

Staff Concord, fashioned in 1994, produced the digital program as certainly one of their new ventures for battling discrimination worldwide, and the primary episode was hosted by Emerson seniors Khary Higgins and Angel Salcedo, together with one non-Emerson scholar, Miranda Andreson. The collection was launched on their website on Oct. 20. Higgins and Salcedo will return for the second 60 minute episode, which can air on Nov. 24.

“In the simplest sense, it’s to advertise positivity and educate folks,” Higgins stated. “It’s to open peoples’ eyes and produce consciousness to completely different views and backgrounds.”

Higgins and Salcedo have been approached with the chance from their professors, Mark Brodie, and Chair of the Communication Division Research Gregory Payne—each are part of the advisory committee. Emerson is the one school that Staff Concord works with, and the partnership started in June 2020. 

Higgins and Salcedo have been requested to co-host the net collection due to their pursuits in activism and broadcast journalism. As co-hosts, the pair consolidates all of the content material that’s submitted from the worldwide reporters and creates a coherent story on a dwell stage. The net collection options over 100 center and highschool scholar reporters from greater than 35 nations and is hosted by former Boston Metropolis Councilor Josh Zakim.

“[Team Harmony] provides folks completely different views of various cultures and completely different beliefs, as a result of when you may perceive different folks, you may respect them as effectively,” Salcedo stated.

The net collection explores hate worldwide with the assistance of worldwide reporters that share clips of scholars from completely different backgrounds who talk about tolerance, fairness, and inclusion by means of conversations with numerous international leaders. Staff Concord’s message and discussions are aimed toward highschool and school college students. 

“Proper now as we transition from the present administration into what’s coming subsequent, it’s an necessary dialog available about equality and respect,” Salcedo stated. “Whether or not you agree with what’s taking place proper now in politics or whether or not you’re towards it, it doesn’t actually matter. All people deserves a degree of respect.”

Within the first iteration of Staff Concord within the Nineties, leaders of the group, together with Leonard Zakim, hosted rallies and protests for the combat for equality. Late congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis and former President Invoice Clinton are two of many who spoke at and supported the rallies. 

The primary episode mentioned antisemitism and hate crimes around the globe. It included interviews with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, CEO and Nationwide Director of the Anti Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt, and Founding father of Free Radicals Challenge Christian Picciolini. By way of all of it, it explored the aim of the Black Lives Matter motion, in addition to the realities of systemic racism, antisemitism, and the rise of white supremacy. 

Picciolini shared his story of going from the chief of the largest Neo-Nazi skinhead gangs in America to serving to dismantle white supremacy, and international reporters shared movies of younger adults who’ve skilled hate and the way they have been affected by it, a lot of them saying they “largely attempt to ignore the discrimination.”

The identify of the net collection stems from President Lee Pelton’s viral letter to the Emerson group following the dying of George Floyd, whose dying by the hands of police spawned protests throughout the nation. Pelton ended his letter by difficult college students, asking them “What are you going to do?” The primary episode consists of an interview with Pelton as he discusses the aim behind his letter and what the combat towards hate means to him. 

Junior Emily King, a public relations main with a minor in nonprofit communications, is a member of Staff Concord’s public relations staff. She stated her pursuits in public relations and nonprofit communication motivated her to hitch Staff Concord. King was launched to the nonprofit by Professor Brodie as effectively and works with Rasky Companions, a public relations agency in Boston that does PR for Staff Concord. 

“A possibility to be part of one thing so massive that reaches so many individuals is simply unbelievable,” King stated. “And I imply, residing this present day with all the pieces happening, having the ability to be an element within the combat towards hate and violence is admittedly necessary.”

Staff Concord promotes their message on a number of social media platforms, together with Instagram and Facebook. The season 15 winner of America’s Obtained Expertise and poet, Brandon Leake, is a co-producer for Staff Concord and has considerably enlarged the group’s viewers. 

“Nothing extra necessary to me than my ardour of using my phrases to encourage others, convey consciousness to issues that want to alter and being part of that social change,” Leake stated. “We listed here are elevating our voices to face towards all types of hate however most significantly to indicate the world what love can really appear to be. 

Staff Concord’s mission and work impressed Leake sufficient to convey him into the group as a producing accomplice. 

Together with the net collection, Staff Concord has collaborated with educators to create a free, downloadable activism tool kit designed for center and highschool lecturers and college students which can come out in late fall of 2020. The equipment “consists of age-appropriate actions that promote inclusion and group constructing, have a good time range, encourage unity, and refute hate speech in all its types,” as acknowledged within the press launch. 

Sooner or later, Staff Concord and Emerson Faculty will collaborate to launch a 10-course Digital Institute for Activism (VIA) which can begin in January 2021. 

“[The VIA is] designed to supply younger folks ages 14-18 with the background, information, and abilities wanted to boost consciousness, interact in troublesome conversations, and use their voices to peacefully advocate for racial and social justice,” a launch learn.

Some VIA programs will embrace Creating Visibility for the Trigger, Constructing Bridges, Beginning a Motion or Marketing campaign, The Artwork of Organizing a PEACEFUL Demonstration, and the Artwork of the Troublesome Dialogue. Every class can be 60 minutes lengthy and can be taught by 17 established and acknowledged Emerson Faculty professors.

The primary class of VIA will admit as much as 200 college students from around the globe who would require a nomination by an educator or group chief for acceptance. The tip of the Institute comes with a prestigious Staff Concord Award which can be introduced to the highest three displays—Motion Plans—that finest foster “bridge constructing and dialogue between various teams and to advocate for peace and justice for all,” as acknowledged on the Staff Concord website. The displays can be reviewed and judged by group activists and difficulty specialists who will then award the successful college students. 

Staff Concord can be planning on conducting its conventional youth rallies in designated cities like Boston and Atlanta, in addition to around the globe, simply because it did within the Nineties. Outstanding leaders and college students within the combat for equality will communicate on the rallies in fall 2021. 

Staff Concord’s objective is to coach and encourage younger folks to convey forth change and abolish hate.