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President Trump Claims To Care About Interference in US Elections While He Is Doing Everything To Eliminate the Protections

President Trump Claims To Care About Interference in US Elections While He Is Doing Everything To Eliminate the Protections

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Artists reflect the times they live in

Artists reflect the times they live inplay icon
Hozier - Nina Cried Power ft. Mavis Staples
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David L. Nevins
By David L. NevinsSep 20, 2021
David L. Nevins
David L. Nevins serves as publisher of The Fulcrum. Additionally, Nevins serves as co-founder and Board Chairman of the Bridge Alliance. Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process. As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action. He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded anyone organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.” He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, he established and continues to work with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program at Penn State University. Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.
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Nina Simone, an American singer, songwriter, musician, arranger and civil rights activist, passed away in 2013.

In speaking about the role of artists in society, Simone said:

"An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. As far as I'm concerned, it's their choice, but I CHOOSE to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself. That, to me, is my duty. And at this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when everyday is a matter of survival, I don't think you can help but be involved. Young people, black and white, know this. That's why they're so involved in politics. We will shape and mold this country or it will not be molded and shaped at all anymore. So I don't think you have a choice. How can you be an artist and NOT reflect the times? That to me is the definition of an artist."

Now, almost 20 years after Simone's death, our country faces great challenges and divisions. The Fulcrum will turn to artists to help us think about who we are as a people and what We the People can do ... or must do.

We believe music, theatre, film and the arts in general can serve a valuable role in expressing the feelings and emotions around the news that we report on, in a manner that heightens one's interest in becoming involved and working toward a stronger and more vibrant democracy.

As so we present to you a song that hopefully will move you to consider the possibilities … to think outside the box … to dream big and to work hard.

Join us in listening to "Nina Cried for Power."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2YgDua2gpk

Please let us know if this song resonates for you, and why or why not. Who knows, perhaps we will find a song that ignites a movement that brings us together in new ways that shape and mold us as a nation. And if not we'll at least enjoy some great music.

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Travis Scott, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Corey Hawkins, Tom Holland, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel, Jon Bernthal, and Logan Marshall-Green attend the premiere of "The Odyssey" presented by Universal Pictures on July 14, 2026 in New York City.

Travis Scott, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Corey Hawkins, Tom Holland, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel, Jon Bernthal, and Logan Marshall-Green attend the premiere of "The Odyssey" presented by Universal Pictures on July 14, 2026 in New York City.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

The Odyssey Isn’t Real, But American Diversity Is

After Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey was released in theaters, Elon Musk declared he would use Grok to create a more “historically accurate” version of the ancient epic poem. The uproar over the film’s supposedly woke casting has been loud and sustained, but the people most upset have ignored a pretty significant detail: The Odyssey is not real. It is a story filled with gods, goddesses, and violent monsters who are apparently more historically plausible than the presence of people of color. Even the fact that Greek, Asian, and African peoples were in contact throughout the ancient world is less believable, it seems, than a sentient whirlpool.

The goal was never historical accuracy, though. It never is. The same logic that scrubs people of color from ancient epics is the logic that scrubs us from American history because in both cases, the sanitized version requires our absence. America becomes a space of prosperity and hope for all if enslavement is deleted. It becomes a benevolent nation welcoming to everyone if internment camps and detention centers are excluded. It becomes a beacon of cultural mixing if the genocide of Indigenous peoples is overlooked.

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What does the phrase "working poor" mean? The first point is that you are working; you have a regular job—you aren't working catch as catch can; you are employed. But despite working, you are poor. What does it mean to be poor? It turns out that "poor” means different things depending on what standard you apply.

Some definitions seem rooted in the old institution of the poorhouse, which was a home for paupers. Thus, dictionary.com defines “poor” as having little or no money or other means of support. To me, that’s the definition of being destitute, not poor.

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The All-America City of Sacramento, California: Youth Forward and Sac Kids First

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The All-America City of Sacramento, California: Youth Forward and Sac Kids First

A quality that’s often missing from community youth services is coordination among programs. This is where Sacramento, California, excels, working as a region to coordinate youth-serving organizations regarding both advocacy and services.

Sac Kids First is a coalition 36 youth-serving organizations that was formed in 2017, with the original impetus coming from a group of young Hmong leaders active in the East Bay Asian Youth Center. These leaders surveyed youth to identify their concerns and needs and to build a coalition with the goal of establishing a dedicated funding source for children and youth.

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