Just a little some some to chew on.
Bill Moyers talks to Cornel West, Serene Jones, and Gary Dorrien for a fresh take on what our core ethics and values as a society say about America’s politics, policy, and the challenges of balancing capitalism and democracy.
Bill Moyers Journal. Faith and Social Justice | PBS
“It’s the funk. It’s the funk. It’s the funk of life” -Cornel West
Here’s a prayer that resonated with me recently…
Events that a few years ago kept me totally preoccupied have now become vague memories; conflicts that a few months ago seemed so crucial in my life now seem futile and hardly worth the energy; inner turmoil that robbed me of my sleep only a few weeks ago has now become a strange emotion of the past; books that filled me with amazement a few days ago now do not seem as important; thoughts which kept my mind captive only a few hours ago, have now lost their power and have been replaced by others.
Why is it so hard to learn from this insight? Why am I continuously trapped by a sense of urgency and emergency? Why do I not see that you are eternal, that your kingdom lasts forever, and that for you a thousand years are like one day? O Lord, let me enter into your presence and there taste the eternal, timeless, everlasting love with which you invite me to let go of my time-bound anxieties, fears, preoccupations, and worries. “Seek first the Kingdom,” you said, “and all these other things will be given you as well.” All that is timebound will show its real meaning when I can look at it from the place where you want me to be, the place of undying love.
Lord teach me your ways and give me the courage to follow them. Amen
- from A Cry For Mercy – Prayers from Genessee by Henri J.M. Nouwen
My last internship before leaving Seattle took place at the Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. One of my main research projects consisted of compiling a list of arts and cultural organizations in the metro Seattle whose mission and work were in conjunction with the City of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative. Gaining an in-depth exposure to the groundwork of various non-profit arts and cultural organizations serving diverse communities across the city was an incredible privilege. Most of all, I gained a resounding confirmation that arts and culture indeed is an immensely powerful medium in which cultural diversity can be embraced, ethnic identity nurtured, and creativity promoted in an increasingly globalized society.
In addition, I became significantly more aware of institutionalized racism, systematic social injustices, and increasing economic disparities that discouraged countless non-profit arts and cultural organizations from fulfilling their missions and effectively serving the communities in most need. My immersion in the urban gentrification of both emerging and established artists as well as the exploitative appropriation of diverse cultures created within me a strong sense of urgency for effective local and national cultural policy.
In continuation of my studies in American cultural policy, my career aspiration is to work in the field of international cultural policy. I hope to work for an institution such as UNESCO or Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs to utilize arts and culture as a medium to promote diplomatic efforts between countries, preserve cultural heritage, and advocate for the necessity of arts in community development, especially in developing states around the world. I will be moving to UK in couple of months to start MA in Cultural Policy and Management program at City University London. I plan to pursue further postgraduate studies in international affairs afterward and combine these with relevant managerial and analytical skills I will obtain in the Cultural Policy and Management program.
For the past six months, I have participated in two unpaid internships at the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and 4Culture, rather than obtaining a full time job. While I have greatly enjoyed and learned a lot from other professionals with similar passion and enthusiasm as me for the cultural vibrancy of the region, it has created financial difficulties for me as well. However, I am incredibly relieved to have just found out that I got a scholarship from my graduate program that will cover my tuition. This alleviation of financial burden will allow for much more freedom in my unique and interdisciplinary pursuit of education to attain my aspirations to contribute to general growth and increase in perceived value of the global cultural sector. As a 1.5 generation Korean American with an extensive connection to Africa, with plans to study in Europe, I hope to be a good steward of the gifts I’ve been given and truly make a difference in the cultural sector globally, because I am wholeheartedly convicted by the statement, “to whom much is given, much is expected”.
