This year, the Office of International Programs (OIPS) at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff continued to offer educational programs to government and higher education institutions in Japan, said Pamela Moore, assistant dean for global engagement at UAPB.
She and a recent UAPB graduate attended an event held by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, presenting topics such as the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter movements, and women’s and youth activism.
During the virtual event, Moore and Tim Campbell, a 2015 UAPB alumnus, gave a presentation entitled “Catalytic Moments in Movement Building: The Role of Women and Youth Activists in the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter Movements.” The event was attended by over 200 Japanese citizens, including students, academics, journalists, representatives of non-governmental organizations and government officials.
Kelsey De Rinaldis, the embassy’s deputy cultural affairs representative, said the U.S. mission to Japan aims to provide its Japanese audience with authoritative, complete, and unbiased information about the U.S. that can provide the nuanced context necessary to keep the current one Understand events in America.
“Through our events, we are able to present American values such as diversity and inclusion and to explain US politics,” said De Rinaldis. “We’re also telling American history in ways our audiences may not have heard. This story, personalized by our experts, allows our audience to relate to the topic and internalize the lessons shared. This unites us about similarities and encourages conversations about how we can collectively benefit from this shared history, culture and history. “
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
The Black Lives Matter movement has drawn attention in Japan in recent years, where it has organized protests and founded several chapters.
While there is some information in the media about Black Lives Matter and civil rights movements in Japan, not all is authoritative, complete, and unbiased. Therefore, it is important for the Japanese audience to listen to American experts discussing the situation in the United States, especially those like Moore and Campbell who can share their experiences firsthand.
During the presentation, Moore emphasized the personal nature of the African American social movements.
“We’re talking about a story that has left a personal mark on us and our communities,” she said. “The presentation focused on the concepts of movement and movement building in the context of the struggle for human, social and economic equality in African American history in the United States.”
Campbell spoke about the history of student activism in Little Rock and also looked at movement building in a contemporary context. During his presentation, he explained how the Black Lives Matter movement began as a simple hashtag and, over time, turned into a rally against police brutality against the African American community.
The movement evolved and encompassed different groups with different goals. Today the official Black Lives Matter organization is decentralized with chapters spread across the country focusing on social justice issues at the local level.
Campbell, who recently received his Masters from the University of Arkansas’ Clinton School of Public Service, shared his own experiences in movement building. He helped organize protests and marches for justice and equality that took place in Little Rock in June 2020 following the killing of George Floyd and other African Americans during police encounters.
“I reached out to local allies with charitable initiatives that I knew had great platforms,” he said. “After we contacted them, we organized three rallies in the state capital. The rallies stayed safe and no one was hurt or injured. They provided a healthy space to express themselves for people who were hurt and fearful.”
His efforts were quickly noticed by Governor Asa Hutchinson, who appointed him to serve on the Arkansas State Law Enforcement Task Force.
The group, which consisted of 20 community leaders, made recommendations to the governor on how to build trust between law enforcement and communities, and any improvements or changes needed to improve the law enforcement profession and ensure compliance with standards. Since its inception, the Task Force has made 27 official recommendations to police policy.
“I was able to build a great relationship with Governor Asa Hutchinson who was very receptive to the problems and deep emotions that were being felt at the time,” said Campbell.
GLOBAL ACTIVISM
Campbell also spoke about how the Black Lives Matter movement sparked activism in Europe, Africa and other parts of the world.
He shared a personal anecdote about how the protests in Little Rock sparked activism in the West African nation of Gambia, where he had served in the Peace Corps for two and a half years. During the Little Rock protests, Campbell posted updates, videos and calls to action on social media.
“A close friend in The Gambia took note of my posts and reached out to me,” said Campbell. “He asked a lot of questions about what I was doing and why I was doing it, and I explained the problems black Americans faced in relation to police work. My friend quickly became passionate about and empathized with the things that I articulated. “
A few days later, Campbell was surprised and delighted when his colleague announced that he had applied for permission from the US embassy in Gambia to organize a movement in support of the Black Lives Matter cause.
“It wasn’t until three days later that I received a video that almost moved me to tears,” he said. “I saw my colleagues on the streets of Gambia in front of the US Embassy supporting the Black Lives Matter cause and singing the same chants I would post on my Facebook page.”
During her part of the presentation, Moore emphasized how the goals of certain social movements differ over time and between different communities. For example, she cited examples of how the civil rights movement was expressed in different ways across the country by different organizations and their leaders in the 1950s and 1960s.
“The civil rights movement was very diverse and decentralized,” she said. “We had nationally prominent leaders – most of whom were men – who had such power and presence that it was felt that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the movement when in reality, ”he chaired the Southern Christian Leadership Conference based in Atlanta, Georgia. While this organization had influence, it was not the only organization involved in the civil rights movement. “
Moore explained how organizations like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee operated primarily in the South, emphasizing non-violent strategies and focusing on voting rights, desegregation, and equality and justice before the law.
National organizations such as the NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women, the Urban League and the Congress of Racial Equality organized and got involved in the south and other parts of the country.
And some organizations, particularly those on the coasts or in large urban areas, have made the struggle for justice more radical. These included the Nation of Islam, the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, and the Black Panther Party.
“When it comes to social movements, there are usually no given formulas that guarantee success,” she said. “Rather, catalytic moments occur and have a great effect. It is important to understand that change can be slow. Sometimes an event can occur and years later trigger reactions that lead to even greater effects. “
PROMOTING CHANGE
An example of this phenomenon was Fannie Lou Hamer’s iconic attendance at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Moore said. As a civil rights activist, Hamer helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which challenged the state’s all-white delegation to Congress.
At that time, the National Democratic Party gave Hamers party only two seats at the party congress. Hamer then made the famous comment on national television: “We didn’t come all the way not to have two seats.”
“This moment may not have seemed so catalytic, but something great happened as a result of Hamer’s call on the Democratic Party to allow African Americans to participate in party activities,” said Moore. “Although it didn’t win, the Democratic Party has begun to integrate its ranks. But for that historic moment at the 1964 Convention, I really wonder if we would have had an African American president and vice-president and a fearless leader like Stacey Abrams in Georgia . ” . “
De Rinaldis said the UAPB-run program resonated with Japanese audiences, who were able to draw parallels between historical figures in their own history, women who played roles in social movements and those who fought for more equality.
“This was particularly relevant as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to grow in popularity in Japan and demonstrate the global impact of this American movement,” she said. “We urge our Japanese audiences to see the success of these American social movements as inspiration and to find ways to apply these shared lessons to the obstacles they are currently facing.”
Promoting racial justice and justice is a key US foreign policy priority, De Rinaldis said.
“What sets America apart is not that we are perfect,” she said. “We are open to our imperfections and challenges in order to move forward and defend our core values. Systemic racism and injustice are rampant in America, but they are not exclusive to America … By recognizing that there is much to be done to achieve equality, justice and inclusion, we can have honest conversations with one another and work out solutions together . The US and Japan can always learn a lot from each other, so it is of the utmost importance that we provide a platform for conversations. “
Will Hehemann is a writer / editor at the UAPB School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences.
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