As social justice protests continue across the U.S., some people cannot or choose not to participate because of Covid-19.
While there many ways to contribute to movements like Black Lives Matter, those who literally want their voice to be heard on the streets can make use of Say It With Me, a tool that lets people record chants online. These chants will then be streamed at protests via a physical podium.
Goodby Silverstein & Partners creatives Adam Reeves and Benny Gold came up with the idea. Reeves is the agency’s director of innovation, while Gold is a senior graphic designer.
“Benny and I thought this up as a reaction to the times and our own desire to protest, safely,” Reeves said, noting that they were inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1969 “bed-ins for peace.”
They pitched the idea to developer Chikai Ohazama, co-founder of Google Earth, who created a prototype. Music producer Donny Dykowsky made a track to underscore the chants.
“When we had these pieces in development, we reached out to artist and activist Killer Mike, who readily agreed to lend his voice and reach to this project,” Gold said.
The site currently asks people to chant “No More Years,” a rallying cry to replace the current administration in the upcoming election. According to Reeves, the podium that will stream a playlist of the chants is still being built but will “make its first appearance in Washington” in the coming days.
“We intend to take it to several protests and buildings of political importance, like Congress and The White House,” he said.
As for the streaming, Reeves said the podium will broadcast the “No More Years” chant with everyone recorded up to that point. He said they will update the chant every time another 100 voices are added, or when the podium arrives at a new location.
It’s unclear when or if the chant will change to something other than “No More Years,” but Gold said the platform was created with other activist groups in mind.
“We hope to let interested groups use it to raise awareness, or donations for their own causes,” he said.
