The 'Re-Mix': A Vocabulary Lesson (by Johnny Coleman II)

"Re-mixing is a way of thinking as well as a way of doing.  It is best understood by those that understand the culture of their audience. "---Johnny Coleman II

[Portions of this article appeared in a previous blog post by Coleman from 2015.  Images may be subject to copyright.]

MARKETING SOCIAL JUSTICE

Can one truly market social justice?  Social justice is the desire of those in pain, it is not viewed as an exciting marketing campaign.  Amazingly America is seen internationally as a wealth of information on how to do this.  Many Americans may not realize how much social justice marketing surrounds them.

1961 FREEDOM SUMMER

Social justice marketing was arguably at its height in the United States in the early 1960s. One example is the Freedom Riders and the Freedom Rides of 1961. In 1961 the Freedom Riders were a group of 13 activists who challenged segregation by riding buses from state to state in the South (southern United States) to challenge laws and customs of segregation.

Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial groups, or skin colors, along with their daily activities; work and play. Racial segregation was in some states a law and in others custom. Racial segregation is the branch of the modern "concept" of race; see the 1998 statement by the American Anthropological Association. That same year the world witnessed the Freedom Riders ride further into the southern states and experience violence, beatings and arrests.

Dennis Johnson (left), and Freedom Rider John Moody (right) 
Photo credit: AP Photo by Connor Radnovich

FREEDOM RIDES RE-MIXED

Re-mixed and re-branded, the Freedom Rides returned once more to America with a protest by those who practice Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa.  

In a 2015 article in an Internet article published by Lifegate.com titled: "Ride to Freedom, youngsters ride through the U.S. against Falun Gong persecutions"  The Freedom Rides were re-mixed and re-branded.  "Twenty young people rode from Los Angeles to New York to rescue five Chinese children threatened with persecution because their families followed the practice of Falun Gong.  Almost fifty kilometres riding from coast to coast throughout the United States, from Los Angeles to New York, to raise awareness globally about the persecution of those who follow the spiritual practice of Falun Gong. This is the aim of Ride to Freedom, a group of young people who decided to spend their summer participating in this social initiative."

For me the Freedom Rides are how an ethnic community is able to gain allies using non-violence and simple everyday activities.

THE ORIGIN OF THE RE-MIX

Although it is rarely seen as a natural cosmic law, the law of the 'remix' is real and works for both new and old brands.  Remixing works for companies and individuals seeking to launch, grow, change and improve their brand or image.  Most important, you must know your audience!

To understand its origins we must go to Sean "Diddy" Combs. In May 2014 Mr. Combs ,also known as Puff Daddy, and P. Diddy, received an honorary doctorate degree from Howard University. His speech was admired by onlookers worldwide. Mr. Combs, now Dr. Sean Combs, will be remembered for many great accomplishments. He is a dancer, actor, music producer, brand builder for Rock the Vote, Ciroc vodka, and REVOLT TV and more. He has also been seen in numerous music videos, several major movies, and even Broadway plays. However, one of his most memorable accomplishments was the 2002 album "We Invented the Remix."  The album reached the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart for a week and was later certified platinum for over 1 million copies shipped. That feat made the word 'remix' a household word.

REMIXING THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Remixing is often defined as telling your own story using new lyrics over the music of an older tune/song, the new and old are blended to tell a new story.  Now almost every artist has a remix song or songs, and uses the remix method as a natural progression, or right of passage if you will, towards gaining their success.  Remixing revived songs that were heard long ago combined old artists with new artists.  It also allowed new musicians to be seen as successful as the older established artists and to receive some of the attention that the older musician once did.

If you were born in the early 1970s you probably are familiar with the children's television show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.  It is documented that 8% of US households tuned into this show on PBS at its peak in the early 1980s.  The show was the creation of Fred Rogers.  Mr. Rogers was a composer, a Presbyterian minister, an educator and believed in an honest approach to television for children.  Fred Rogers died in 2003.  Then in 2012, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood was launched. Daniel Tiger is none other than the animated version of Mr. Rogers.

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood is now Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Mr. Roger's theme song was remixed to bring us the theme song for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  Again this was a combination of new lyrics to an old tune. If you are between the ages of one and five-years old at the writing of this blog article then you are probably a fan of Daniel Tiger.  Reports by Google Analytics by 2015 show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood received 45 million video streams on all digital platforms making it the number two show within the PBS KIDS network.