Our New Team Member

Gail Johnson, Humanity Project Leadership Council

Today, we welcome a new member of the Humanity Project team. Gail Johnson joins our distinguished Humanity Project Leadership Council, a hand-picked group of community leaders who assist our efforts in a variety of ways.

Gail is a 28-year-old college graduate who is pursuing a career in special needs education. She believes in educating all children in ways that offer a compassionate and welcoming environment. A family-oriented mother of one girl, Gail strives to make sure every child’s voice can be heard, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or personal beliefs. Now she will head up our work on racial equality, taking over for Gabby Bendel. (Thank you, Gabby, for your help! We look forward to working with you on other projects soon!)

We met Gail Johnson during our Humanity Club sessions with young girls this summer at Delevoe Park, where she serves as Recreation Director. Our Humanity Club inspires kids of color to believe in themselves and to lead their peers toward greater social equality and respect-for-all people. Gail was engaged and energetic each week and she clearly cared about making a difference. We knew she’d be a good fit for our Leadership Council.

Welcome, Gail, on behalf of everyone at the Humanity Project! We’re excited to keep making a difference …together.

One Person At A Time

How do we change the world? At the Humanity Project, we strongly believe the answer is this: One person at a time. Until individuals are motivated to focus on something greater than their own immediate self-interest, human interactions will remain more or less as they are. People become prisoners of their own egos, of their personal wants and instant gratifications. Far too many of us are far too self-centered, to our detriment and the damage of society. Humanity can only really change one individual at a time. That's what we try to do in our work with both kids and adults. We have good company for that idea too. Here are just two examples from two very fine minds of the past:

“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.” Marie Curie, 1867-1934, Polish chemist and physicist

“If you see that some aspect of your society is bad, and you want to improve it, there is only one way to do so: you have to improve people. And in order to improve people, you begin with only ONE thing: you can become better yourself.” Leo Tolstoy, 1828-1910, Russian author

Many folks think that simply getting more people to agree on the need for individual change has no meaningful effect on the world, as if humanity first needs to work out all the particulars about how we’ll do things differently. It’s naive, they say, to believe that merely a desire for new attitudes in daily life can bring about good results: Just wanting change won’t make it happen. We disagree. To us, that’s rather like an author who refuses to begin a new book until every plot point and character detail is settled in advance. Writers don’t work that way. The initial step involves recognizing a strong desire to create the book, with most specifics determined during the writing.

Nothing happens until individuals are motivated. That’s why we feel the Humanity Project “Pledge For Humanity” is so valuable. When someone signs their name to a pledge, they tend to take it seriously. Not always, of course, and to varying degrees depending on the person. But if the pledge is signed freely and in good faith, the words usually have some effect on the signer’s psyche. Afterall, even the President of the United States only pledges to uphold the Constitution — nothing else compels him (or her) to do so.

We hope you’ll sign our pledge, which you can do quickly and easily at this link: Check out our Pledge For Humanity. Meanwhile, we continue to deliver our programs that promote equality and respect-for-all … and to explain our ideas in panel discussions and presentations, on social media and here on our website. Please join our campaign and become a member of the Humanity Project at no cost by signing our Pledge For Humanity. Let’s change the world, one person at a time.

Gardening For Equality

See that sign just above? That’s for our newest Humanity Garden, now under preparation where it will be a permanent gift to the community. Or as the sign itself says, “A reminder of our common humanity.”

Our wonderfully caring Humanity Club girls at Rev. Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park in Ft. Lauderdale have worked with us for weeks to better understand equality and respect-for-all. We also talk a lot about humanity during our sessions with these kids of color. (All girls, to promote gender equality.) The Humanity Project uses music, games, art projects, stories, roleplaying and more to teach our important lessons. And it’s clear that the girls are hearing, and understanding, our message. These are bright children who want to make the world a better place, our leaders of the future.

We’ll end this blog by sharing some pictures of their most recent rock painting efforts — all in the name of humanity. These colorful rocks will become the centerpiece of our Humanity Garden at Delevoe Park, which sits next to the African-America Research Library and Cultural Center. We think it’s a perfect spot for a lovely new indoor garden.

Poetry Of Humanity

Today the Humanity Project offers two poems about humanity. The first is older and famous, a piece read at the funeral of Rep. John Lewis in 2020. The second is a new poem, with a very different point of view. The author of that new poem discusses both works at the end of this post.

I Dream A World

I dream a world where man

No other man will scorn,

Where love will bless the earth

And peace its paths adorn

I dream a world where all

Will know sweet freedom's way,

Where greed no longer saps the soul

Nor avarice blights our day.

A world I dream where black or white,

Whatever race you be,

Will share the bounties of the earth

And every man is free,

Where wretchedness will hang its head

And joy, like a pearl,

Attends the needs of all mankind-

Of such I dream, my world!

(by Langston Hughes)

---------------------------------------------

I Too Dream

I too dream a world

but unlike worlds most

dreamed before.

Mine is a world

pocked by bickering and war,

snarling people

and barking mobs.

Oh yes, I dream of human beings

foaming yet with angers

and fizzing still with fears

bred by the familiar misunderstandings

among careless flung words.

All beings as themselves

so human,

then as now.

But all with one thing imagined

more for those living

in my vivid world anew.

Because my dreaming dreams of

future skirmish-wars defused,

our old hatreds resolving

in a new confidence of knowledge

that wedges aside the ancients

of myth and superstition

lingering indifferently

from millennia elapsed.

I dream of bicker noises

overtaken by song,

the transcendent hymn

of our humanity

crescendoing in a joyful ode

whenever the voices of dissonance

again rise to a din.

Oh yes, dissonance shall surely sound again

and often again in that world I dream,

disharmony intrinsic to a cosmos atonal,

a natural music playing ever out of key

in the chaos of clash and clatter

written into nature’s grand score.

We are organisms

fashioned of conflict.

Crossed purposes of interests and

crosscurrents of histories

will move us then as now,

the panting passions of our peoples

still puffed up and selfish centered.

We cannot be more than we are made.

But we need not be less.

Yes when I dream of human beings

being as the human finally fulfilled,

every member of our envisioned species

then understands that existence without

conflict has always been fantasy,

a conjuring of Utopia unattainable

amid a universe propelled

ever by the myriad colliding

streams of necessity.

Nature’s legacy to human beings

is conflict, oh yes,

but conflict resolved by reason

is humanity’s gift to nature.

In this world I dream about

judgment will nearly

balance out emotion,

the angers and fears of this moment

dissolving soon in the wisdom

of the next.

We cannot be more than we are made.

But we need not be less.

As an infant develops to a child

who ages to an adult

who may evolve to a

human being wondering and wise,

so humanity still toddles

toward our maturity,

wobbling step by

faltered step in

the long long childhood.

I dream this child standing

one day a young adult

proud and imperfect,

oftentime curious with uncertainty,

straining to discern the confusing paths

forward before advancing

forcefully in bold stride.

(by Robert Spencer Knotts — Copyright © 2020, Robert Spencer Knotts. All rights reserved.)

————————————————————

A brief comment by Robert Spencer Knotts, Founder & President of the Humanity Project:

I was inspired to write my poem as a reply to the beautiful work you see above by Langston Hughes, the justly famous American poet who lived from 1901 to 1967. I’ve admired his poetry for a long time, since my late teens. But as much as I am moved by his flowing vision of a human Utopia in “I Dream A World,” I also feel it does us an injustice as a species in some way. I don’t believe a human Utopia is possible. But I do believe we advance as humanity, slow and uneven step by step, toward a more fully realized version of ourselves. That’s what I am trying to say in “I Too Dream.” And it’s what the Humanity Project is all about at some deeper level. We are a deliberately small but determined nonprofit focused on doing our best for a more fulfilled humanity… This is something we believe can be accomplished in part by teaching both kids and adults to recognize the profound value of other individuals: “Equality For Each, Respect For All!” In our imperfection, there is potential and, always, there is much much hope for the future.

Humanity Club -- Live Again

Humanity Club: Summer 2021

We’re back! Our acclaimed Humanity Club program is working with kids again … in person! No Zoom, no frozen video or inaudible audio. And it’s great!

Yes, some things are still different than when we last were live. Masks are needed for instance — worn by everyone in the room but lowered or removed briefly when the moment seemed safe. And all of us on the Humanity Project team of course are fully vaccinated. We’re doing our best to make sure the children, their teachers and our own Humanity Project folks all stay healthy.

Take a look at a few pics from yesterday’s first non-Zoom Humanity Club session in 16 months. This was at Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park, beside the African American Research Library in Fort Lauderdale. We began teaching these smart girls of color what we mean by “Equality For Each, Respect For All,” using art projects, games, music, stories and more to connect with their young minds. We plan to help them build a Humanity Garden by the end of the summer: a lovely spot that celebrates our collective humanity by expressing respect for each individual. Check out the photos below. The kids seemed just as happy as we were to be back in the classroom again.

Notice the car… respect even on our roads!

And notice the rainbow with two girls… Equality For Each, Respect For All!

Having fun, all together again!


Our Latest Covid Vaccination Event

On Sunday, May 30, the Humanity Project held another Covid vaccination event. This time, we worked with parishioners and walk-ins at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Pompano Beach, Florida. It was a success, as you can see from some of the photos taken that day.

Before this, we set up a large event at the local Pride Center, which offers services to the LGBTQ community. And we have worked for months on distributing information to promote Covid vaccine equity among LGBTQ, African American and other underrepresented communities that may not receive the vaccine at rates experienced by other populations. Our wonderful major sponsor, Our Fund Foundation, helped support this work with a generous grant to the Humanity Project.

Though the pandemic is waning in this country, it seems, the Humanity Project remains committed to vaccine equity — and we continue to strive toward that goal. Our motto, afterall, is, “Equality For Each, Respect For All.” We believe that a worldwide health crisis creates many glaring inequalities. Our mission requires us to do what we can to help correct this imbalance.

A "Starr" For Humanity

The Beatles remembered, with Ringo Starr tagging along behind his bandmates.

This is the fourth in a new series of blogs written for our website by Humanity Project Founder, Bob Knotts, a playwright, poet and author of the book “Beyond Me: Dissecting Ego To Find The Innate Love At Humanity’s Core.” These blogs offer a more personal perspective on the goodness and inherent value of humanity, ideas that are the foundation of the Humanity Project’s work.

If I could sing, I would sing his praises today. Ringo Starr, great drummer of The Beatles … more recently a singer, songwriter and drummer of his own music. And a humanitarian. More than any other contemporary popular music performer I know, Ringo celebrates our humanity. To me, that’s worth pointing out for more folks to appreciate.

Obviously, Ringo doesn’t need help from me or the Humanity Project to gain recognition. He’s already one of the best known musicians alive. But I wanted to offer this personal perspective today on an important aspect of his songs that I don’t believe is widely understood. Ringo Starr focuses much less on the self-centered, ego-driven romantic variety of love and much more on an encompassing love of all human beings. That’s unusual — and as mentioned, not fully understood and appreciated by the public.

But I think it’s quite remarkable. As I wrote in my most recent book, “I’ve written love songs of my own. But now I hunger for songs that celebrate something deeper and more inspiring than commonplace romance. Why not songs of universal respect? Songs of unconditional self-value? Songs that enshrine human diversity, human sacrifice, human achievement? They can be written.”

The substantial body of work recorded by Ringo Starr includes many songs that offer this very perspective on our lives. Let me offer just two examples, here from one of his newest songs, “Not Enough Love in the World”:

“Every night I pray for some kinder time. Do we figure it out in time? The time’s coming soon. There’s not enough love in the world …. There’s not enough peace in the world. There’s not enough hope. There’s not enough love in the world.”

Or another new example from his song, “Zoom In, Zoom Out”:

"When your journey seems an endless one and fear is hard to overcome. Step-by-step is how you get it done. One day you'll be laughing. A wealthy man from way up high. A homeless child with a cardboard sky. If we could only see through each other's eyes imagine what could happen. Zoom in, to get a new perspective. Zoom out, to see we're all connected..."

I find more than a simplistic “Peace & Love” message to Ringo’s music. The songs he sings are almost unfailingly positive, upbeat, cheerful or witty, with the lyrics and music a charming complement for each other. A very fine musician himself, Ringo plays only with top pros including many colleagues who themselves are huge names in popular music. This means his sound is sharp, tight and enormously enjoyable. He also records in a wide range of genres that have carried him to country music and even reggae. But there’s more to it all than this. When you sit and listen to song after song from his extensive catalogue of albums, you soon find that there’s something deeper going on in Ringo’s music. There is an overarching optimism about our humanity, which is what the Humanity Project is really about. Remember our Humanity Project mission statement? “Instilling greater respect for the goodness and inherent value of humanity.” That’s what I hear in the music offered by Ringo Starr — and I, at least, know of no one else in pop music who’s doing the same.

So, yes, a personal blog today about some music I find exceptional in this way. And no, I’m not getting anything for promoting Ringo’s music, trust me. He wouldn’t know I’ve alive. But I’m a lifelong passionate fan of The Beatles who has been surprised to better understand just what their irrepressible drummer has really been doing with himself all these years later. His music smiles at us, urging Ringo’s fellow human beings to believe in the great value of our own humanity. We can do better, he reminds us, starting simply by discovering ways to express a little genuine respect and caring for each other.

Progress Against Pandemic

With our partners at Our Fund Foundation, the Humanity Project is making a dent in the pandemic. Obviously, a very small dent … this is a global problem requiring the efforts of millions worldwide. But yes, we have some progress to report — an issue we’re tackling to improve Covid vaccine equity in underrepresented populations.

First, we’ve been successful in setting up some vaccination events. The Pride Center, an LGBTQ agency in South Florida, injected some 600 people with Covid vaccine in April as a direct result of the Humanity Project’s efforts with the State of Florida and Broward County. With big thanks to Humanity Project Board member, Bob LaMendola, for making this important event possible! Also, we will hold another such event on May 30 at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Pompano Beach, Florida and at least one other is likely in the near future. We’ll keep you posted.

In conjunction with the diverse coalition we launched in January called the Diversity Unity Coalition, the Humanity Project also has distributed nearly 1,000 Covid informational cards all around South Florida. This includes giving out the cards at community events such as food distributions — the picture above came from one such food giveaway in April. Thanks to our good friends Andrew Leone and Todd Delmay for helping with that effort.

With plenty of vaccine finally available around the U.S., our work on this issue now focuses especially on Covid vaccine education as we encourage everyone to take their turn and roll up their sleeves. As you probably know, this pandemic won’t end until we reach a level of herd immunity — and that means at least 75-80% of us must be vaccinated. We’re nowhere near that figure now. We hope you’ll do your part. Get vaccinated if you haven’t, please. And if you have, encourage your friends and family to do so. As they say, we’re all in this together.

Pledging For Life

Many more people have been signing the Humanity Project’s “Pledge For Humanity” in recent months — and taking their pledge quite seriously, it seems. Have you seen our pledge? Have you signed it yet?

This is what it says: “As one hopeful member of the human race, I promise to make every reasonable effort to live up to these words each day. Accordingly, I pledge:

  • To treat every human being with respect for their inherent value – even when I disagree with their actions, words or beliefs.

  • To look beyond myself, striving toward a humanity where each human being feels equally valuable.

  • To understand that this effort benefits me by strengthening my own self-worth and forging a higher purpose for my daily life.”

    You’ll find the pledge on our website. Visit the Pledge For Humanity page. And we hope you’ll become one of our new signers. We believe that human beings attach significance to statements they sign if they do so willingly — and a pledge carries even more weight for many folks. Think about it: Even the President of the United States merely repeats an oral pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. It’s the oath of office, a pledge. And most presidents (not all …) have taken it very seriously indeed. For the rest of us in daily life, a pledge to behave in one way or another can help focus our values and clarify goals. And provide motivation to carry out the words we’ve pledged to live up to.

    So it seems with one of our pledge signers, Kelsey, who wrote to us with her pledge: “I will stand by this for the rest of my life.” Another signer, Liam, quoted Nelson Mandela: “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” And Laylah wrote to us these words added to her signature: “Everyone deserves to be respected, loved, and cared for in this world. We are all just trying to figure out our place in the world, it starts with us loving and cherishing not only ourselves, but others as well. With a little bit of more love and respect, we can create a big change in the world that sparks a positive and well needed chain reaction.”

    Thank you to each of these caring individuals, who have joined the growing list of people taking our Pledge For Humanity. We think they are sincere. By signing, they also became official members of the Humanity Project at no cost. And they help magnify our impact in the community by their agreement to live according to high standards of personal conduct, treating others with respect as they seek equality for everyone. We hope you’ll join them … and share the pledge link with your friends and family. As we like to say at the Humanity Project, “We need more humanity.” Our Pledge For Humanity offers another small but meaningful step in that direction.

Covid Vaccine Equity

What does, “Equality For Each, Respect For All” mean in this time of Covid? Is anything different during a pandemic as we strive to realize these ideals?

The Humanity Project believes the answer is yes. And so we have expanded our work to include Covid vaccine equity — doing our part to make sure underrepresented communities have equal access to these lifesaving vaccines and also fully understand the value and safety of the vaccines. In this effort we have joined the national Ad Council’s Covid Collaborative, which combats Covid vaccine hesitancy, especially in African American and Latino communities. We also are working on our own to set up vaccination events at local churches, community centers and other places that folks congregate.

We’re aided in this important work in two ways: First, our great Humanity Project sponsor, Our Fund, has awarded an additional grant to help fund our vaccine equity effort in the LGBTQ community, with an emphasis on LGBTQ communities of color. Second, the Humanity Project is leading a coalition of individuals who hail from a wide variety of backgrounds, forming the new “Diversity Unity Coalition.” We are liberal and conservative, Black, Brown and White, Muslim and Jewish and Christian and agnostic — and we include pastors, nonprofit leaders, businesspeople, university professors and more. The Diversity Unity Coalition grew out of a virtual panel discussion the Humanity Project held on January 23, three days after the new Biden Administration called for national unity. Our discussion hosted by the Broward library system was named, “Seeking Common Ground” … and indeed we did find common ground. This conversation has turned into action by focusing our coalition’s efforts initially on Covid vaccine equity.

The Humanity Project is proud to play our part in this vital broadbased initiative to crush the pandemic through national, and worldwide, Covid vaccination. Science again has given us the tools to improve human life. Now it’s up to the rest of us to take those tools and use them effectively … and fairly. “Equality For Each, Respect For All” must include equal access to Covid vaccines. And an equal willingness to receive the shots based on accurate information. You’ll find that information at this website: GetVaccineAnswers.org … We hope you’ll share the link with friends and family and colleagues. It’s up-to-date and CDC-approved. The more of us who get vaccinated, the faster we can put the Covid pandemic behind us at last.

"We need more humanity!"

The Humanity Project today announces a new campaign … with a very clear message: “We need more humanity!”

At our Board of Directors meeting two days ago, the Humanity Project directors decided that this is an idea very relevant to our times, an era of sharp political and religious and cultural divisions. The phrase has a double meaning, of course: “We need more humanity!” as a call for equality, respect, compassion and caring for others … and as a reminder that the Humanity Project is working to foster those very values. Our organization believes the world does need more humanity in our dealings with each other as well as more Humanity Project to contribute toward making this happen.

Fortunately, there are signs of hope. President Biden has called for greater unity in the United States. Public discussions have sprung up recently about the need for more respect, more kindness in our society. The Humanity Project even organized an online forum of diverse community leaders on January 23 to seek common ground — and indeed they found common ground. That panel has continued to meet to take joint action on pressing issues, currently fighting Covid vaccine inequality in underrepresented populations such as African American and Latino. “Equality For Each, Respect For All” must include equal access to medical care. That’s even more urgent during this pandemic.

So you’ll be seeing those four words often for a while in our social media, blogs, videos and elsewhere: “We need more humanity!” As we look around at the conflicts and hostility that sometimes seem everywhere these days, who could argue with that notion? Yes, we do need more humanity.

Progressing During Pandemic

The Humanity Project this week continued our series of online events aimed at promoting equality and respect in our society. Thank you to Dr. Laura Finley and Barry University for hosting the latest discussion. (Dr. Finley, of course, is a full professor at Barry U. and a Humanity Project Board of Directors VP.)

Despite the pandemic, the Humanity Project has continued to reach folks in our community through an ongoing series of virtual forums, panels, films and more. At Barry University, the topic was dating and domestic violence in LGBTQ relationships as extreme forms of inequality. You may also remember that just three days after the inauguration of President Biden, the Humanity Project convened a distinguished panel of 10 community leaders to discuss ways to foster equality and respect in our divided nation. That panel was comprised of a diverse group: Black and Brown and White, Jewish and Muslim and Christian and agnostic, conservative and liberal. We have continued to collaborate since that January 23 public forum. The panel hopes to soon announce new specific efforts to promote greater equality.

Please look for news about our upcoming virtual sessions. You’ll find them informative, respectful, insightful … and inspiring.

This website and all materials on it are copyrighted by the Humanity Project®.

(Fables and some music are copyrighted by the author, Robert Spencer Knotts.)

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