Whether you're in the hustle and bustle of the big city or the remote town of Drexel, North Carolina, there's something about the nostalgia of a traditional barbershop that preserves local history. The following is a documentary shot by Matt Morris that captures just that--the story of a southern shop and its infamous Bluegrass music sessions.
New York City-based non-profit, Healthy Kids In The Heights, is spearheading a campaign that will empower neighborhood parents to become leaders in healthy living. The Healthy Parents Fellowship program is dedicated to battling child obesity in the neighborhood of Washington Heights. Led by founder and health activist, Catarina Rivera, the initiative is currently seeking funding to jump start its goals of health and entrepreneur training for parents, publicity for the project, materials and supplies, and space for its work. Washington Heights ranks second-highest in the city for childhood obesity. The Healthy Parents Fellowship really wants to change this statistic by developing community leaders that will in turn, activate community awareness. You can help fund their cause here. Only 16 days left for them to reach their goal of $2500 USD.
Check out the poignant photography of Brooklyn-based artist, Wayne Lawrence. After studying at Santa Monica College and the Brooks Institute of Photography, he's returned home to New York City to capture what he calls relationships to communities often overlooked by mainstream media. Take a look!
In an attempt to reclaim "lost" youth and restore "moral values," authorities in Indonesia are corralling dozens of punk teens and forcing them to give up their rebellious ways. The effort includes shaving the heads of many of the detainees, ridding them of their punk attire, and forcing them into a strict regimen of religion and military drills. Despite the clamp down, The Guardian reports, many of the teens are still rebelling and sticking to their punk ethics.
Hip-Hop artist, Common, recently visited post-earthquake Haiti. The trip was sponsored by Call + Response, an organization dedicated to connecting cultural leaders to the fight to end modern-day slavery. The journey was documented as part of a joint effort with the CNN Freedom Project. Common and his peers breakdown the experience, the problems and how they all aspire to help change the reality of the Haitian people.
American urban studies theorist, Richard Florida, explores the correlation between happiness, creativity, and equality in his latest piece for The Atlantic. According to his findings, a creative nation makes for happier people and less social inequality. Of course, this is the condensed version. You can read the entire article here.
As Thanksgiving Day is being observed in North America today we thought it'd be refreshing to honor the legacy of the Native American Indian. The following is a mini-doc about the making of the Crazy Horse monument in South Dakota. Given the incredible injustice that was served to the native people, projects like this pay rightful due and honor America's original inhabitants. República respects!
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)and international paint company, Dulux, have partnered up to present a rather unique fundraising project. The "Own A Colour" campaign invites donors to name colors out of the 16.7 million colors that exist in the digital spectrum. The campaign aims to raise £16.7 million for UNICEF.
Not sure how overdue this one is, but the New York City borough of Brooklyn has officially adopted "Brooklyn's In The House!" as their official welcoming slogan. The iconic phrase was coined in the 1980's by Hip-Hop DJ, Cutmaster D.C., and further popularized by Brooklyn-based acts such as The Notorious B.I.G. and others.
A recent New York Times article highlights a very fascinating and intriguing movement that's sweeping the globe--unrest. Yes, we've seen it everywhere this year, from the Twitter-induced revolution in Libya, to the riots in London, to the more recent Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City. According to the article, more young people than ever before are outraged with politics and government corruption, and letting it be known! A big factor, the article also explains, has a lot to do with the leaderless Web culture that is so prominent among many of these young rebels. The resources available via the Internet have created almost perfect storm conditions for worldwide upheaval.
The critical mass of wiki and mapping tools, video and social networking sites, the communal news wire of Twitter and the ease of donations afforded by sites like PayPal makes coalitions of like-minded individuals instantly viable.
Thus, the world is waiting and watching to see what is going to happen with this precarious mixture of anti-government sentiment and new methods of mobility. Results are going to vary, but certainly affect how we all rethink our conceptions of government, work, and society from here on out. Check out the entire article here.
