Why Black Lives Matter Is Such a Powerful Slogan

Creating positive change is a marketing problem as much as anything. We need to be able to express our ideals with clarity and empathy, so that they are understood at an elemental level. In my lifetime, the left has been terrible at this – and political battles are often lost before they even begin.That's why it's worth examining the phrase, Black Lives Matter. Not only to appreciate its precision and power, but to learn lessons about how to create better messaging for future progressive movements.—In the coming months, I intend to spend more time on issues like this. My contention is that in today's world, We Need Marketing More Than Ever. Why? Our culture carries water for a lot of cancerous concepts. Many of them are hiding in plain sight, unnoticed simply because 1) they've always been there, and 2) privilege is a blind spot.I'm not here to debate this, I'm here to help. Here's the thing: The culture is ours. We get to create it. Yes, there are well-moneyed foes and powerful forces against us. But in our best moments, we stand together and sing in tune. Our voices form a chorus of change.I don't have to be the leader of that change, and you don't either (though if you are, I'm here to cheer you on). But we do need to participate. It starts with small actions that become habit. Small actions multiply.What I hope is that these will become a series of small actions. I don't purport to have any of the answers. But we have little chance if we don't have the hard conversations that lead to asking the right questions.I invite you to follow along here in my Patreon community, where I share exclusive episodes and a new experiment with workshopping unfinished works. Could be cool. We'll see.