It matters that people who have been pushed out of traditional media spaces are building their own media companies, starting their own podcasts, launching their own magazines and online platforms, because those are the places where we are going to be able to see conventional wisdom be challenged. That means having more hosts, producers, writers, and content creators who not only reflect the backgrounds that we come from, but reflect the values of a more just world. Part of what we have to do is further democratize media, ensuring that progressive marginalized voices are more and more at the forefront. Do you fear that publications will just go back to ignoring issues of police brutality and systemic racism as they have throughout the years prior?īPC: I think that’s always a dangerous possibility. Concerns have already been raised that the media momentum after the murder of George Floyd is beginning to die down. HPR: You’re an NBC news and MSNBC contributor. And if the posts don’t actually accomplish anything - they don’t provide people resources they don’t educate people they don’t connect people to ways to get involved - then that is performative activism, and it takes up space in places where greater intention could be used. If your social media post centers you and not the people that you claim to be in service of, that can be a real challenge. But the difference between performance as a helpful tactic and performative activism is outcome and ego. And in that way, I think social media, and media more broadly, is a really powerful tool. Performance can be seen as anything from leveraging art as activism to making sure that we leverage media to tell untold stories and to reveal a harsh truth about American injustice. Do you think performative activism is a problem we need to address? How can people ensure they’re translating social media posts and activity into sustained change?īPC: It’s important for all of us to understand the difference between performance as an activism topic and performative activism. HPR: Activism has become heavily intertwined with social media, especially with people spending more time online due to COVID-19. I love that medium, and I’m hopeful people will continue to engage with UNDISTRACTED. So I am excited about building the next tomorrow with UNDISTRACTED and focusing on intersectionality and intersectional feminism to look at what a brand new world can be. But I have found that with podcasts, people really engage with other listeners, and I have always found podcasts to be powerful tools of learning for myself. I recently launched UNDISTRACTED, in part, because I find podcasts to be a powerful community-building tool. What avenues have you found most effective for engaging with people?īPC: I have been podcasting for a while. HPR: Over the years you’ve used several different platforms and mediums to push people towards action and social change - podcasts, books, policy writing, and TV appearances, to name a few. So, for an opportunity to continue to refine my thinking about what the next step has to be for politically marginalized communities and hopefully provide an opportunity for the students as well, I was really excited to return. They ask such profound questions that help me to ask better questions. Why did you decide to return for another year, especially in a virtual environment?īrittany Packnett Cunningham: I always enjoy and appreciate my time with IOP students. Harvard Political Review: You were an IOP Resident Fellow in the fall of 2018. Brittany was also a member of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and the Ferguson Commission. A lifelong activist and proud member of the Ferguson Uprising, Brittany was the former co-host of the 2019 iHeartRadio Best Political Podcast, Pod Save The People. Brittany Packnett Cunningham is a Fall 2020 Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, a NBC News and MSNBC Contributor, and host of UNDISTRACTED, a news and justice podcast with an intersectional lens on the world.
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