Rapper, actor and activist Lonnie Rashid Lynn, better known by his stage name Common, encouraged students to look within themselves for change during an online webinar Tuesday.
The event, hosted by SJSU’s Associated Students, was an inaugural event meaning it was the first of the “Spartan Talks” series, which the A.S. events team plans to host annually during the
spring semester.
Event coordinator and SJSU alumna Jade Bordenave oversees A.S. events and said her goal is to plan events that would matter most to students.
“We didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into one specific type of person,” Bordenave said. “We wanted to have the versatility to choose anything.”
When it came time to decide who would speak at the event, she said she was methodical with her decisions, and with Common having a multi-faceted career, Bordenave felt he could unite people through his
many endeavors.
“We basically wanted to create some type of program that was special to AS,” Bordenave said during a Zoom interview. “We wanted to make something that was similar [to fire on the fountain] in the sense that it would end off the semester on a good note.”
She also said A.S. hopes to bring people to campus who are relevant for the time, especially with everything that has happened in the last year including the large rise of the Black Lives
Matter movement.
The event was co-facilitated by Dr. William Armaline, associate professor and director of the SJSU Human Rights Program.
Armaline expressed how fortunate he is to have had opportunities to coordinate with high-profile people and said he does his best to prepare for these types of events.
“[I] do my homework on the guest, so you’re treating them with the respect they deserve,” Armaline said during a Zoom interview.
He handled portions of the webinar and asked Common questions about his social justice involvement, favorite music and upcoming projects.
Common responded with insightful answers and even explained the work he’s been doing for people who are incarcerated.
He talked about the Hope and Redemption Tour which started as small concerts at prisons and a community engagement campaign, but grew into an opportunity to create a bill for juvenile sentences.
“This tour eventually became something where we invited political officials to come [to] see and so they could be proximate,” Common said. “That resulted in us working on a bill.”
The bill SB-394 is aimed at helping kids who are in juvenile detention centers. Under this bill, teenagers who are under the age of 18 in a juvenile detention center would have a second chance at getting a shorter sentence.
Juvenile offenders would no longer be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison without the opportunity to have their case re-examined.
He said the work has been a fulfilling journey and he hopes to continue it.
Theater freshman Aleena Ma attended the event and expressed how shocked she was when she found out how active Common is in the community work as well as prison reform.
“I am glad he is trying to change [the prison system]. ” Ma said during a zoom interview. “Kids do stupid stuff all the time, like why would you put them in prison for decades?”
Common continued the conversation by sharing his passion for helping others.
“I want to be a part of liberating them [prisoners] mentally and spiritually,” Common said.
Armaline also asked Common about his upcoming projects and he spilled some exclusive details about an upcoming movie project.
“What we are working on right now is a score for a movie that I am a part of. It’s a movie called ‘Alice,’ ” Common said during the webinar. “It’s a beautiful movie, starring Keke Palmer and myself.”
The artist expressed his excitement for what is to come and encouraged students that now is the time to be a part of the change for their future.
After the event, Armaline discussed how he grew up listening to Common and wouldn’t forget debating their top five musical artists.
“That’s what I’ll remember and appreciate,” Armaline said. “Getting to have a debate on the top five with, you know, an artist like that. That you listen to.”
Ma said the event was inspiring and gave her hope.
“I think it’s great to see someone come and speak to us who has that hope and who is doing stuff to better the society,” Ma said during a Zoom interview. “It’s great to see that you can be inspired by someone and you can do what they do.”
As for the future of the series, she is hoping to see a female speaker to help her feel more empowered. She even suggested someone like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
