Bring on the Noise
At the urging of friends, and to satisfy my own rabid thirst for dialogue, I hereby launch my blog…a semi day-to-day flow of ideas and observations. It will be culled from my work here at the DC Central Kitchen, the larger effort I am deeply involved in here in DC and my (joyful) travels throughout the country to talk about the bigger issues of money, power, respect, opportunity and making noise.
Let’s begin with the topic of noise.
I’m a big believer in “joyful noise” a term that comes from the gospel music experience. At DCCK, we try to make that kind of noise. I was at a wedding recently (of my friend Henry, who runs Clean and Sober Streets, down the hall from DCCK. He re-married his wife, after 25 years apart…now HOW cool is that?!?!?!?) and, because I was a tad early, I grabbed the hymnal and read and unexpected introduction about the history of gospel music in the civil rights movement. One line really intrigued me–”The music of the movement wasn’t the power, but it conveyed the power, inspiring all who heard it”.
That’s what we should be about. In a nutshell, the non-profit sector can never be THE power of change, but we can inspire ALL who see our work, hear our words, feel our conviction or think about our logic to believe that change is possible. As we continue this regular discussion, I hope that change, and how to make it happen, will be a constant thread. Without it, it’s just a more of the same, and while I will always applaud the work of my colleagues, and their day to day work to make life better for all, too little has happened for far too long.
SO…add to this. Write back. Challenge me. Drop by anytime….but bring your brain.
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