Starting a Dialogue: TEDx Platforms Black Locals

While the phrase Ted Talk is often associated with a lecture or intervention in terms of how it’s viewed in pop culture, the practical application of the act is much more geared towards creating a forum of proactive engagement amongst a target audience. The speakers in attendance at last weekend’s TEDx event in the Hayden Hall auditorium presented a variety of different topics to the live audience in attendance. These topics stressed the importance of having proactive dialogues within our community.
The afternoon’s speakers included the likes of District 2 Councilwoman Chauna Banks, as well as social and health activists such as Raymond Jetson and Ellen McKnight Hill. Both of the Baton Rouge natives’ TED Talks were aimed at enhancing the living experience of black people in modern America. Councilwoman Banks discussed the importance of TEDx as a platform in regard to the role that they play within the local community.
A health and nutrition advocate in the Baton Rouge area, McKnight-Hill focused much of her discussion on the physical and holistic aspects of health within the black community. Harking back to her own life experiences, the speaker recalled how her own father instilled within her the belief in attention to detail. This belief applies to dietary choices. McKnight-Hill encouraged the audience to be intentional with the foods that they put into their bodies, as well as physically active on a consistent basis.
“When my brother and I were coming up, [my father] made certain that we were eating right. He didn’t take us to McDonald’s. When we went to the grocery store, he would have us read the food labels,” said McNight-Hill describing the environment that her father created for herself and her brother. When she asked one day why they couldn’t eat pork, McKnight recalls her father saying, ‘The police and politicians do a good enough job on us without adding pork chops to the list of problems.
On a similar note, longtime District 61 Representative in the Louisiana House of Representatives Raymond Jetson presented his case for age within the black community being a much different social indicator today than it was thirty years ago. The biggest example of this that was noted by Jetson was how present-day America features just as many if not more people over the age of sixty who are alive today as people below eighteen.
This rise in population within our community especially prompted Jetson to point out various ways in which the African American community could prepare themselves for the challenges that an unsustainable future may bring. “I believe that it is imperative that we recalibrate the village,” said Jetson. Noting how the current black social structure in place that works to the benefit of black Americans won’t be enough in a future where the American economic model continues emphasizing improved efficiency and production, Jetson’s comments reflect desire and necessity towards class solidarity in the face of corporate corruption.
While TEDx is a global organization, its local chapter in the Baton Rouge area has what Councilwoman Banks believes to be a cultural connection with the locals within the city. As such, she believes that protecting youth in these areas is paramount to continued proactive growth. Flipping the famous saying, ‘ kids these days’ in relation to its usual use as a critique of the behavior of the younger generation, Banks noted, “Kids these days don’t have childhoods…You can’t talk to me about kids these days without telling me about parents these days; grandparents these days,” said Councilwoman Banks.
It’s conversations such as these that were undertaken and led by the guest speakers. This shed light on the different proactive approaches to life as African Americans in this city that we can take. This requires attention to self as noted by McKnight-Hill, as well as an understanding of the current social climate and status of the younger generation that Jetson and Banks touched on. Spaces for such conversations, such as those relevant to our community are vital. This is what the speakers in attendance believe to be an effective method of establishing the groundwork for sustainable and proactive change.