A pair of Spelman women has launched an advocacy project that encourages people to share their passions and how they’re using their passion to take action on socio-political issues, called #TheStandChallenge.
The pair—which is composed of young mass media and communications aspirants, Ko Bragg C’2015, who recently graduated with a degree in History and Lizette Terry C’2017, a Comparative Women’s Studies—started a social media campaign publicizing the upcoming launch through Instagram and Twitter in July.
The project’s Instagram page describes the mission of the project as “using people’s stories/passions to inspire others to go make change.” The Instagram page shows the pair enthusiastically asking “What Do You Stand For?” and others answering to what they stand for—answers ranged from equal love to milkshakes!
Individual students have also publicized the project on their Facebook profile page and asked others to join The Stand Challenge. The project was brainstormed about after nine people who were killed in a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., on the evening of June 17, 2015. 21-year-old Dylann Roof, in Shelby, North Carolina confessed to committing the shooting in hopes of igniting a race war. With many conversations about racial violence and equality were going on, Bragg and Terry decided to, well, take the stand by elevating the conversation and charging millennials to use their talents to speak on things they’re passionate about.
We face a unique set of challenges because we have plenty of civil injustices that happen, and there’s plenty of wrong in the world, but our movements don’t look like those of our parents and grandparents. During their time, evil had an easily identifiable source, and now I believe that we often don’t know where to begin asking for change, says Terry.
“Since we don’t have the same issues as our predecessors, the way in which we create change will be different, too. I think a lot of people think that you have to protest, rally, and march to be a change agent, activist, and revolutionary. However, there are ways to contribute to the greater good of society, and that becomes more clear when people have a platform to share the things for which they stand and the ways in which they do so.” Hence the start of #TheStandChallenge, said Bragg.
The pair hopes that #TheStandChallenge will be a way in which people gain inspiration from the positive work other people do in the world to do great work to—ultimately creating a domino effect, said Terry.
By the end of Fall 2015 the pair hope to launch the #StandSubmission on Youtube, in which they will take remote submissions of people telling them what they stand for. In addition, the women want #TheStandChallenge to become a network whereby people can connect to others to take action transnationally, locally, and globally. “We hope to achieve that by hosting a website to serve as that platform for people to get connected perhaps with others like them, or to become aware of new ways in which they can help out,” said Bragg
If you’re interested in joining #TheStandChallenge team or submitting, you can follow them on social media to be a part of the movement.
Follow them on social media:
Ko’s: @keaux (IG) @keaux_(twitter).
Lizette’s: @lizettevanessaa(IG) @lovelizette_
The Stand Challenge: @standchallenge (Twitter & IG)
WATCH #THESTANDCHALLENGE