Last Thursday evening, the University’s Diversity Matters series presented, “The Color Orange: Ten Tools for Open Interaction.” Performers Mohammed Bilal and Josh “Boac” Goldstein of the underground hip-hop group “Orange Flash” delivered a series of ten raps, or steps, each based on a tool used to counter racism and prejudice.
Bilal and Goldstein hope the name “Orange Flash” evokes the momentary “light bulb” that ignites creativity and innovation.
To illustrate how different they are, Bilal and Goldstein’s first rap addressed individuals who come from different backgrounds, themselves included. Goldstein is Jewish and hails from a wealthy San Francisco suburb. Bilal is Muslim and grew up in urban Washington, D.C.
“How come we became friends when, if you looked at us on paper, we’re polar opposites?” asked Bilal.
About five years ago, when the long-time friends began to seriously pursue their musical group, they experienced the “light bulb” and realized that hip-hop was binding their friendship together. They united this commonality with their racial and religious differences to challenge American and global prejudiced notions.
The second and third steps were “Try not to prejudge” and “Take a chance: try something new.” Goldstein delivered the message by retelling a story of his first trip to the ghetto. He encountered a black man and was initially scared, then realized that the man had approached him simply to be friendly.
“He was black, I was white, it was all the same,” Goldstein said.
For the fourth step, Bilal and Goldstein recounted how they met. Bilal was dating a childhood friend of Goldstein, who introduced the two on account of their common passion for rap and hip-hop. Soon afterwards, Bilal joined Goldstein in a rap performance at his Jewish Community Center.
“Check the heart and the way that they work through the world,” the friends said in chorus.
Orange Flash put much emphasis on their fifth step: “One-on-one.” Bilal and Goldstein emphasized how the opportunity for a cross-cultural exchange becomes possible in everyday conversations and when individuals of different backgrounds are away from their identifying group or environment.
“Because we [are taught to] believe that those differences are wrong, we don’t have that conversation,” Bilal said.
He and Goldstein sang, “It can happen, one-on-one, with the smallest commonality – the interaction.”
Step six urged “Cultural understanding” rather than cultural identity.
The seventh step was, simply, “Time.” Orange Flash recommended that people give themselves three weeks of time to become familiar with and understand a person of another culture. One must have patience, they said, to overcome cross-cultural differences.
“Prioritize when you analyze your budget of time,” Bilal and Goldstein chorused.
“Overcome mental boundaries,” the eighth step, referred to the early days of segregation, when races were divided by physical boundaries. Bilal and Goldstein told of a 1950’s Sam Cooke concert, where the dance floor was divided for black attendees and white attendees. According Bilal and Goldstein, time has conditioned us to such separation that, although we see no physical boundaries between races today, they persist in our minds.
“A lot of the time, we’re stuck in our own heads,” Bilal said.
The ninth step was focused on overcoming cultural stereotypes. Goldstein expressed that he wishes to be viewed as a real person leading his own life, rather than an indistinguishable member of a Jewish stereotype.
Bilal expressed a similar sentiment in one of the night’s last raps.
“Do you need some vision to see that I’m different and an equally fine instrument?” he asked.
Orange Flash’s final step ended on a lighter note: “Laugh and have fun.”
After “The Color Orange,” Bilal and Goldstein performed a rap about gender issues, extending the scope of their campaign against prejudices.
“We were talking about race and religion,” Bilal explained before the rap. “We decided that we needed to add a component of gender.”
During a discussion period after the raps, Orange Flash spoke about the difficulties that they have encountered with their mission.
“It’s hard to rap about issues like these without sounding corny,” Bilal said. “That was a challenge.”
To conclude, the duo offered advice for overcoming racism based on their own experiences. Deemphasize race, they said.
“The connection [between myself and other cultures] was being able to find out who I am without identifying as black,” Bilal said.
According to Student Activities Program Coordinator Nicole Chabot, Diversity Matters is a series of programs diverse in nature that bring with them the opportunity for community dialogue and the elements of entertainment.
“’The Color Orange’ seemed like a natural fit and we are happy that all the pieces fell into place so well,” she said. “It was a great reminder that there are things that we can do, as individuals, to take action against the misunderstanding we witness on a daily basis.”
Attendee Stephanie Pfeiffer ’08 thought the Color orange encouraged action against discrimination in a unique way.
“The two [tools] that stuck out most to me were ‘one-on-one’ and ‘time,’” Pfeiffer said. “Both are very simple ideas that nevertheless go unrecognized as important steps in the process of multicultural friendships.”
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