Artists take on issues of equality

Artists write tracks on equality and diversity because they see the world and the way it is or because the things that have happened to them. They also do it because they want a better future for the world they live in, their children and family.

Yes, music can change things locally and globally because it brings a message to those who are not aware of what is going on. Also, to those who thought they were alone in what they are seeing  it brings them and others  together

OUR BASIC HUMAN RIGHT IS FREEDOM, freedom of expression and choice without discrimination. We punish and invade impoverish and Middle Eastern countries who do not obey these rights, yet in a growing number of European world powers have forgotten such rights.  French Muslim women are now forbidden to wear the Burqa with anti-Burqa campaigns reaching Belgium, Italy and Spain. Even here there is talk of such right being abolished for some Muslim women. You would be wrong to think such view in recent days was from the BNP leader Nick Griffen. In fact it came from our coalition government by Conservative MP Phillip Hollobone who expressed support for similar measures in this country.

After all, we have been through has a society, war have after war trying to win equality for those oppressed have we just merely given up to the pressure of standing up to what is right or wrong. Some would state that this due to globalisation that has caused an east and west divide. This has lead to us becoming “Islamophobic” like in societies before when we were all anti-black and anti-Jewish? This is something I highly doubt.  Or maybe it could be considered that due to globalisation there is a crisis of national identity. What does seem likely considering in Britain if you are patriotic you’re stereotyped to be skinhead and a member of the BNP party?

Others clearly state that it is just a human mechanism to target a small minority in society when things go wrong like Hitler did with the Jews. As in France there are only 2,000 women who actually wear the Burqa.  One can suggest that this is highly plausible because Islam is an easy card play like the Jewish faith was in the 1930s.  This can be further emphasised by the black mugging in Britain during the 1970’s and 1980’s because of a recession there was inner city unrest and strikes, the mugging problem was amplified by the government even though it was only small scale. This distracted the British public of wider social issues as many called for tougher immigration security. This may sound familiar and credible as many argue that this is exactly what is happening in France currently.   They have already seen inner city unrest and large scale riots and with the French government preparing further harsh pension cuts, it can be seen as winning political strategy to bring about anti-Burqa laws. Also it is curious to note that the Burqa ban in Belgium is the only thing the Belgium government can decided on since it has been unable to form a government or even deal with the financial crisis.

In France like many other European countries Muslim women are the poorest in society with many deluding themselves to believe this is the result of the Burqa, However, many women who wear the Burqa wear it by choice and feel liberated. In Egypt there is an increasing number of female intellectuals’ who are choosing to wear the Burqa.  Personally, I have not tried it but should the French government be helping these women instead of taking away their freedom of choice away.

There is always going to be mixed feeling towards the Burqa but as a diverse society should we be more excepting or should there be a limit on choice and freedom.

I did my Year 12 work experience at People & Planet, the Oxford based student campaigning network in August 2010. People & Planet campaign to end world poverty, defend human rights and protect the environment, as I believe that all three are incredibly important issues, I decided that this would be a good place to do my work experience.

From the offset of working at People & Planet, I was struck by how friendly the staff are, I was immediately made to feel welcome and given a wide variety of things to do. These included contacting student volunteers, emailing universities about volunteering opportunities and collecting contact information from institutions. This provided me with a good experience of general office work, experience that will be invaluable in later life.

All in all my work experience at People & Planet was very enjoyable, I found the people there friendly, engaging and interesting and the work that I did was satisfying and provided useful skills. I would heartily recommend volunteering at People & Planet to anyone interested in the issues and with a desire to gain skills in general office work.

By Nathaniel Newman-Beckett

Maddy at The Wave

2009

September: Back from a wonderful summer spent frolicking al fresco amongst plants and such, the group meets just before term. With all the third years gone, there’s only a handful of us left. Problemo. To start some action, an army is required. So we hit the Freshers’ Fair with full enthusiastic energy and big grins to get as many new students on board as possible. We have no plans for the year yet, no idea where our campaigning adventures will take us, because these decisions are up to all of the members, including new ones.

October: At our first meeting we have tea and cake and talk about why everyone wants to get involved, a lot of people had never campaigned before, and don’t know about issues in depth, but that’s really not important. It’s the enthusiasm, the passion to make things better that keeps a campaign alive. We talk about things going on in and around Sheffield: the fact that RBS, with notoriously dirty investments, are on campus recruiting students, the lack of ethical food at uni, with so little being vegan or locally sourced, about the need for more ethical clothing ranges in the uni shop…..and plant some seeds of plans.

Some genius also has the idea of making recruitment leaflets to give out at every demo, so that everyone knows who we are and how to get involved.

November: We spend the next two months as busy little bees demo-ing nasty companies who dare to show their face on our campus, selling vegan cakes, holding talks about sweatshops, meeting with the catering staff and so on.

While our activities are all fun and good, we soon become exhausted, and we don’t have much to show for our efforts. Sure, every demo raises awareness, and is reported back to the heads of companies, and we have raised some very-much-needed funds for People & Planet, all the while having a whole lot of fun, but we wanted some visible results!!

2010

January: We organise a meeting to talk about ideas for a new campaign. We want to make a difference to the environmental impact of students. We want results that we can see. And so, inspired by Leeds students, we decide to launch a campaign to ban bottled water on campus, and to install free water fountains for everyone. It makes so much sense: bottled water is a crazy waste of everything. For 1 litre of water, 7 litres are wasted in production, 250ml of oil is consumed and 100g of carbon is released into the atmosphere. Add to that the fact that only blah in 100 bottles are recycled and you have a green disaster right there. And that’s not even mentioning all the money wasted!

March: We set to work on our ‘Bottle Out’ campaign.

Step one of our campaign is research: finding out all the niggly details about passing a motion, our university’s water policy and so on. As well as talking to people at the Union and Uni, the P&P office is a gold mine for advice and information on running a campaign…it’s what they do full time! We need to get 1000 signatures to bypass council and for our proposal to go to popular vote at the next election.

Step two is making it happen: we write the motion, design and print posters

Step three is spreading the word. Our recruitment leaflets combined with our high campus presence has been working a dream in getting new people on board and our team is strong. We start a poster campaign to raise awareness of the hidden evil behind bottled water and stick them up all around including in halls, using the same poster on all of our stalls. And, of course, we create a Facebook group to spread the word even further. 1000 signatures are gathered easy peasy.

And step four, getting the bottles out, well, we’re still working on that. Because of the way our union works it won’t be going to vote until September, but we have a great base of support so we reckon it’ll get through, and the plastic will disappear, replaced with fountains popping up everywhere. Added to that is the awesome strong group that we have built, with the skills and stuff to run a campaign.

I think people write music about inequality and diversity because this is the only way they can voice out their view all though this does not mean a total change or turn around to the problem but it does affect the society for a while.

THIS IS A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM ME Titleed (TIMES ARE HARD)

TIMES ARE HARD AND THE PEOPLE ARE SAD

LITTLE CHILDREN IN THE STREET ALL SHOULD BE IN SCHOOL

THE CREDIT CRUNCH BITE SO BAD MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT EVERY PENNY YOU SPEND

THOUGHT ABOUT THAT

BUT CARMA IS A GRAET THING

COPYWRITE WHO BY BABY DAVIES BEDEDE PRODUCTIONS

Artists talk about equality and diversity in theirs songs because it’s easy to spread the message around.

Music, poetry, texts everything is usable to change things as long as it is done with a passion and love.

Here follows a poem written by me about diversity.

DIVERSITY

Diversity you might not see.

But it is here, please don’t fear.

Differency, Identity.

Personally i like in here.

Please let me see.

You and me.

Shaking hands

Maybe doing a dance.

My community.

Where there is people like you and me.

Can someone show me.

The difference between.

Black and white.

Day and night?

Copy-written by Luo’s Productions.

Artist’s write about equality and diversity because they have the means to voice their opinion, and in some cases are able to be very influential in doing this. I think music has the power to influence individuals and affect their lives, but may not necessarily bring about permanent change. It is possible for things to change locally and globally, but whether or not people conform to this change is another story.

This is a free verse i wrote about stereotypes on youth, especially black youth.

So you’re calling us under-achievers

Never that bruv I refuse to believe it

From negative words I’ve been totally freed and

Work extra hard, I have to succeed

In all that I do ima’ be like the head

That’s top not tail, no I won’t fail

And, though I stumble I won’t fall

See I got Jesus to respond to my call

So no I don’t fit no stereotype

Like jammin’ on road with childish hype

But when you see some youths do that

You’re quick to assume and condemn in a flash

But, don’t you know that nobody’s perfect

They ain’t clocked that the roads ain’t worth it

Yes deep down I can see that it’s hurting

Making mistakes and still not learning….

(Copyright owned by Nicole R. Belfon for K.a.r.i.z.m.a.t.i.k P.r.o.d.u.d.c.t.i.o.n.s)

To challenge stereotypes, we can use the resources available to us along with peer support to speak out against stereotypical views of young people. As a Music/ Media student, websites, radio pieces and tracks can be produced to voice our opinions.

Diversity and inequality are relevant to the young people because we are the most targeted market by the police, media and retail industry. Its also relevant to others around the world because of worldwide industries and unequal opportunities.