Kumi Naidoo
on Good Troublemaking
Are you a troublemaker?
If your answer is no, then what stops you from being one?
Kumi Naidoo has always been a good troublemaker, a chosen path that turned him into a global figure in the progressive social movements worldwide.
A rebellious child who fought against apartheid in South Africa, and a youth organizer during the anti-apartheid school boycotts of the early 1980s, Kumi has lived a part of his life having a price on his head.
Despite all this, he has remained rooted in Martin Luther King’s Creative Maladjustment principles: refusing to normalize inequality and devoting himself to exposing injustice. As Kumi says, “for far too long, we have lived in a world that was divided by North and South, East and West, Developed and Developing” - and if we don’t stop “looking for Winners and Losers, we don’t stand a chance. “
Kumi Naidoo is a re-inventor: he is trying to reorient environmental activism in alignment with wider global movements for economic and social justice. This is the reason behind the founding of the Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity movement, for whom he is still a Global Ambassador.
When was the first or last time you wrote a letter to your mother?
Because Kumi wrote many.
In his book, Letters to My Mother: The Making of a Troublemaker, he recounts the day of his mother’s suicide when he was just 15, a moment that became the catalyst for his journey into radical action.
In this intimate story, he talks about his awakening, about how his rage and sorrow became fuel for his dream to build a better, free world. In Siphokazi Jonas’s wonderful words, “through his vulnerable remembering, he shows us that when we are ready, we must face ourselves and our untold stories.”
Kumi Naidoo always puts art at the heart of everything he does.
In an “Open Letter to the Philanthropic Community: Harnessing the Power of Arts and Culture for Humanity’s Survival”, he dares us to “fully embrace artivism as a way to enable voices to be heard that are currently silenced or unheeded, to encourage synergies that would not otherwise emerge, and empower people to redirect humanity away from its current path of self-destruction.”
No wonder he is an artivist. He turned grief into creativity when his friend Riky Rick, one of South Africa’s beloved rappers, passed away.
Do Kumi a favor and listen Riky’s ‘Sondela’ track – and, most importantly, hold your loved ones close.
Thank you, Kumi, for being a Good Troublemaker!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Kumi Naidoo
Company / Institution:
Founding Trustee - The Riky Rick Foundation
Senior Advisor - The Community Arts Network (CAN)
Special Advisor - Green Economy Coalition
Global Ambassador - Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity.
Website: https://linktr.ee/kuminaidoo; https://www.kuminaidoo.net/
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kumi-naidoo-073ab723/
Country of origin: South Africa
Country you currently live in: South Africa
Your personal definition of Sustainability: Living in such a manner that allows future generations to be able to survive!
The main driver that keeps you going: The urgency of the climate crisis and the fact that we are running out of time.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Perseverance. Recognizing that the struggle for justice is a marathon, not a sprint.
The trait you most value in others: Integrity.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Growing vegetables on my garden balcony.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the sustainability path:
My first inspiration was Lenny Naidu. A close friend that understood the intersection between racial justice and environmental justice when most of us had not made the connection yet.
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the sustainability journey: Be honest with yourself about the scale of the challenges and act like our lives depend on it.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you:
“Save the planet” because the planet does not need saving.
If we continue on the suicidal trajectory that we’re on, we will be gone. So, we don’t need to worry about the planet, because once we become extinct as a species, the forests will recover, oceans will be replenished and so on!
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope:
Pessimism is a luxury we simply cannot afford. Humanity is capable of doing and being much better than we are right now.
Make sure you celebrate each other and your sense of community while fighting for your futures and climate justice. And make sure you’re smiling and having fun whilst you stand up for climate justice.
Books that had a major impact on you: Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
Must-reads for any Sustainability professional: Regenesis by George Monbiot
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again:
Ghost Busters
14 Peaks
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts etc. you visit frequently:
trevornoah.com
The Riky Rick Foundation
Africans Rising
The Community Arts Network
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing:
Anything by Riky Rick, Sondela is my favourite song right now.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you:
The Amazon, The Arctic, Antarctica and Rusters Valley, Eastern Free State (South Africa).
Global Sustainability Voices you recommend us to follow:
Vandana Shiva
Nnimmo Bassey
Tasneem Essop
Trends in Sustainability we should keep an eye on:
The threats and possibilities of efforts around carbon dioxide removal.
Best places for business networking (online or offline):
“Somewhere Places”, places where arts, culture and the possibilities for courageous change come together.
Events we should attend: Events which celebrate artivism, like daily meditations or community walks.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why:
Earthrise Trust - “Earthrise trust plans to reinvigorate Rustlers Valley Farm and develop Naledi Village. Working closely with village leaders and residents, the trust has formulated four goals, each with a set of achievable objectives.”
Transparency International Council - “Transparency International is a global movement working in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption.”
Sanitation and Water for All - “Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a global partnership of governments, donors, civil society organizations and other development partners working together to coordinate high-level action, improve accountability and use scarce resources more effectively.”
Green Economy Coalition - “Our economies are not set in stone. They can be upgraded, overhauled, or transformed. And positive change is already happening around the world - building economies that are fairer, greener and more resilient. The Green Economy Coalition exists to accelerate this inclusive and sustainable transition.”
Sustainable Development courses/trainings/certifications that really teach us how to have an impact: Courses, training and learning interventions that put intersectionality at the centre.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: Young people, innovation and growing moral courage.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: The persistent cognitive dissonance and affluence of our leaders.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: An embrace of a culture of emergence (recognizing that we don’t have all the solutions and that the solutions will emerge from co-creation).
Quote that inspires you:
“There are some things in our nation and in our world to which I’m proud to be maladjusted…
I never intend to adjust myself to segregation and discrimination.
I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry.
I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few, and leave millions of people perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of prosperity.
I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism, and to the self-defeating effects of physical violence…
And I call upon you to be maladjusted to these things until the good society is realized…”
(Martin Luther King, Jr., 1966)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
