Be The Change
Given the recent political events that occurred, I’m sure everyone is experiencing a wide range of emotions. Regardless of the political party we identify with or the candidate we voted for or wish had won, we have a duty to this nation, to this world, and to ourselves to be the change we wish to see in the world. To this effect, I would like to bring a song from 2020 to everyone’s memory.
CHANTEL – 2020 (Global Awareness), is a song about the global catastrophes that befall humanity. The music video accompanying Cofie’s song shows snippets of news highlighting such catastrophes. At 0:22, glaciers are falling (representing global warming), followed by police brutality at 0:24 in two instances where a group of armed police gang up on one man. Over these scenes is the sound of a young girl preaching:
“People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing”
As the title implies, the song is about spreading awareness and urging people to work together, to overcome the world as it is, and to persevere for a better day. It is not enough for us to simply be aware that our world is dying. We can no longer stand on the sidelines wishing for change.
54 seconds in, the song starts:
“We gotta make a change
Do it for a greater day
It’s time that we save our place
Before it’s just too little too late
People living under wage
Dying from our own exchange
Nobody’s on the same page
Feeling like we’re lost again
Got me saying, ‘Dear Lord’”
Regardless of the election results, regardless if we are celebrating or worrying about our chosen candidate, we must make a change. If we believe in activism, then we must peacefully protest, and advocate for our rights. If we are religious, we must pray for peace, strength, and protection. If we are the problem, we need to right our wrongs and do better. As the lyrics assert, we are dying by our own hands, by human hands; global warming, police brutality, mass shootings, the lack of hospitals, and youth suffering. Cofie wants us to be aware of these catastrophes because if humans are the cause then humans will be the solution.
Toward the end of the music video, Cofie is in shackles struggling to unlock them. She fights, covered in darkness, and eventually releases herself ending up in a one-knee kneeling position. This position is often used to represent black solidarity in reference to the unjust choking and killing of George Floyd by two police officers. Her fight to release herself from these shackles is a fight for humanity and a fight for change. Like she sang, we must save this world from ourselves before it’s too late.
People are the change! Our voice is the change! We are the change!
