Episode 11: Frontlines of Change (feat. Jenna Donovan, Cynthia Mendes

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Jocelyn

Speaker 1  00:07

Bell, welcome to from ideas to impact the show where students, professors and professionals seek to understand the overlap of creativity, innovation and a love ethic in various industries. I'm Jocelyn Bell, the professor of the human spark class at Bryant University, a class formerly known as the sociology of innovation and creativity, and we're in the segment of the podcast when we hear student reflections on and analyzes of the themes and ideas that emerged over the course of the class. Sometimes they used this final assignment as a chance to imagine what an episode of their own podcast would sound like. Other times, they put the episode together as part of the larger story of the class. One thing that's consistent throughout this segment of the show is that each student invites you into their thoughts on the overlap of creativity, innovation and a love ethic. In this episode, Jenna ties her reflections on loving power, cultural resilience and creative risk taking with Cynthia Mendez is discussion with the class.

Speaker 2  01:36

Hi everyone, and welcome to the podcast, where we explore the intersection of creativity, love and innovation across different industries. I'm Jenna Donovan, and today we're driving into a powerful case study on Cynthia Mendes, a community organizer, activist and former Rhode Island state senator who has dedicated her life to fighting for social justice. Cynthia draws strength from her Puerto Rican Taino and Cape Verdean roots, and has a deep commitment to building a better world through radical imagination and collective action. In this episode, I'll argue that Cynthia Mendez, life and work are a powerful example of how love and action can drive meaningful social change, particularly when supported by radical imagination, cultural resilience and creative risk taking all core concepts from the ICL framework we've been studying in class. To start with some background, Cynthia's story is one of resilience and radical imagination. Born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Cynthia comes from a family with a deep commitment to social justice. Her great grandfather was a Cape Verdean ship captain who escaped colonial rule to start a new life in America, eventually bringing others with him on the historic sooner. Aristina, her father, once a law student, chose instead to become a prison chaplain, dedicating his life to serving those society often forgets this family history of resilience and service deeply shaped Cynthia's commitment to community building justice, reflecting what the ICL overview describes as Cultural resilience, where personal and collective histories become powerful sources of creative inspiration. Focusing on family legacy and cultural resilience, Cynthia's family history is a testament to the power of cultural resilience. According to the Boston Globe, in 2022 her grandfather returned to Cape Verde after establishing himself in the US to bring others to freedom, symbolizing the courage and vision that continue to influence her activism today, right now, you will hear a clip from our interview with Cynthia discussing this matter. The first

Speaker 3  03:53

thing that I like to do is recognize that this started before me. This was a legacy that i There are parts of what I do I actually inherited from my parents and really even my great grandfather and my ancestors, and they were things that I take from from their experiences that kind of very much informed the work that I do. And so you heard a little bit about that in my bio. So my you know, my mom and my mom's family's from Puerto Rico, which is a historically colonized Island, and then my dad's family from Cape Verde Islands, from nine islands off the coast of Africa, which were also colonized by the Portuguese and then was liberated in the 1940s and in that process, before the Cape Verde Islands were liberated, my great grandfather was able to escape colonized Cape Verde and come to America. And he came here with very little money in his pocket, but with the commitment that he was going to then get. Enough money to get a boat to bring others here.

Speaker 2  05:08

Cynthia's journey into activism and politics wasn't a straight path. She worked in healthcare, where she witnessed the devastating impact of a profit driven system. She volunteered in her faith community educating women of color about mental health and housing justice, but her turning point came when a friend encouraged her to run for office, pushing her to think about power as a form of love. This concept ties directly into the ICLs framework, emphasis on loving power, which is the idea that power, when rooted in care and connection, can actually be a transformative force for social change. It's a concept that challenges the often negative connotations of power, instead of viewing it as a vital part of building and just loving communities.

Speaker 3  05:51

So I had to ask myself the question around power, who has the power to decide these things? Who has to just who has the power to decide love, like, who is love? Who is cared for? Right? Like, who has the power to design these things? And I had realized that a lot of the people that were fighting or demanding that people were cared for were not always the same people in power. And so had to think about power. And I think I put this in my original, in my in my original biography, I think it was really, it's really important to think of power as an element of love. It's okay we get we're kind of conditioned to not think about power, or think power is bad, power is good, love is power, and so we are actually, it's, for me, it was exciting to actually bring, bring those two things together and think, Okay, if I love people, then I have to think about power. And to neglect that conversation means to neglect to not think I think love is this nebulous nice thing. It is not. It is power and so and it has an element of power to it. So I went from laughing to saying yes. When

Speaker 2  07:04

Cynthia decided to run for office, she took on one of the most powerful men in Rhode Island politics, a Senate Finance Chair with deep connections and a significant financial backing despite the odds, she won with 62% of the vote, proving that grassroots movements and community power can overcome even the most entrenched political machines. This reflects another key concept from the ICL overview, creative risk taking, men disease, willingness to challenge the political establishment, despite the personal and professional risks, is a powerful example of how creativity can drive social change by pushing boundaries and rejecting complacency

Speaker 3  07:42

and covid laid bare a lot of the ways in which our society had left some people out and more or some people to feel the burden of disparity in whether it's with health care, Whether it was working, even though it could cost you your life working and not being compensated well, like who lost their jobs, who lost their home, and so the message of, listen, if we love people, that we should make policies that reflect and fight For everyone resonated, I think, in a very particular way, in 2020 when everyone's thinking and looking around, going and volunteering and trying to help their neighbor, and still saying something wrong somebody, things are not right here. And so to have a group of people who were not career politicians to kind of come in and go, there could be a different way to do this was sure we ran very strategically successful campaigns. But there, I do think there was something about touching the heart of people where we were at that moment when we were really crushed by the system was exposed for what it was, and to be able to speak to that moment. I'll fast forward a little bit. I obviously got into office was one important thing about power, is power is also and the power of love, it means it's also risky, and it can be very unconventional. And so there was this idea when we when we ran for office, when I ran, the political establishment wanted nothing to do with me and us. A little bit of caveat. I ran against one of the most powerful men in the state. He was the Senate Finance Chair who was not supposed to beat him. He had more money than God. He was just it was not supposed to be able to touch him. We beat him 62 to 38 which was quite embarrassing for the establishment, but the political establishment at that time had to then reckon with all of these wins and saying, like, maybe we need to start doing things so the $15 minimum wage, which they would not touch with a 10 foot pole. After those losses in elections, they passed the $15 minimum wage that first session, the Act on climate, which was a historic kind of climate. Bill that set really important benchmarks for us to meet as a state. They passed that unanimously first session, and then legalizing cannabis with automatic expungement. That meant clearing the records of people that were kind of carrying records for a really long time before other states of Massachusetts hadn't even done in addressing the kind of carceral harm that had existed before, and so that was all risk. They had to do that. They had to do those things, because all of a sudden, now there were people that were like, I'll risk my political career to make you embarrassed. I'll risk my political career to say this. Because I didn't ever felt like I was supposed to have that anyway. I that anyway, this was a gift that, again, one of my ancestors teach me is that when you have an opportunity, you have to use it to fight for other people and and you do it collectively. So it wasn't just me, but we were tag teaming, both in the House and the Senate, about how we were going to make these things happen that also comes with knowing that there will be blow back. And so I had bills go missing. I had political establishment would put out awful things in the press that were negative about me, and so there was this also breaking of my heart, and that process of kind of understanding that love and justice, yes, is collective work, but there is resistance

Speaker 2  11:38

throughout this podcast. It was my goal to break down the core questions that we were aiming to answer throughout this case study. First, how does love in action overlap with creativity and innovation? In my opinion, Cynthia's commitment to community organizing and political advocacy is a form of loving power. This concept, as described in the ICL overview, views power as a tool for collective good when used with intention and compassion. In her own words, Cynthia described this connection in an interview with NBC 10 News, saying it's okay to think about power. We're conditioned to think power is bad, but love is power. If we truly care about our communities, we have to be willing to challenge the systems that decide who is loved and who is not. The second of the core questions is, what systems support or hinder this creativity and innovation, men, disease. Work is deeply supported by strong community networks and grassroots organizing, but it's often hindered by entrenched political structures and financial barriers. For example, the public's radio highlighted how Mindy's faced significant institutional resistance during her campaign, reflecting the challenges of moving against established power structures. The last core question we have to address is, what is broader social impact. Her work has inspired a new wave of political engagement in Rhode Island, challenging the status quo and pushing for systemic change, including climate justice and economic equity Clean Water Action describes her efforts as part of a larger movement to redefine political power as a tool for community healing and not just control. These core questions help us understand not just Cynthia's journey, but also the broader themes of love, creativity and resistance that drive real social change. Circling back to question one, how does love in action overlap with creativity and innovation? Men disease, commitment to community organizing and political advocacy is a form of loving power, using her platform to push for justice and equity, transforming political power into a tool for the collective good. Question two, what systems support or hinder this creativity or innovation can be answered by Cynthia's work that is supported by a strong community networks and grassroots organizing, but it's often hindered by entrenched political structures and financial barriers, as we saw throughout her time in the Rhode Island State Senate in terms of broader social impact, her work has inspired a new wave of political engagement in Rhode Island, challenging the status quo and pushing for systemic change, including climate justice and economic equity. Cynthia Mendes story is a powerful reminder that love, imagination and community are essential for real social change, whether it's standing up for affordable housing, climate justice or economic equity. Cynthia's work shows us that we all have the power to make a difference. Her journey challenges us to think about the kind of impact we want to have in our own communities, and how we can use our unique strengths to push for a better world, as highlighted in interviews with the public radio Cynthia's approach to leadership is deeply rooted in her belief that political power should be a tool for community healing, not just control. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend and tune in next time for more inspiring stories from the front lines of change. You. You.