Problem Solving Must-Read

#blackwithblue

Plus: How bracelets are saving newborns' lives in India, and coasters that promote consent

Problem Solving Must-Read

#blackwithblue

Plus: How bracelets are saving newborns' lives in India, and coasters that promote consent

Boston, like virtually every US city, suffers from racial tensions, gun violence, and tenuous relationships between police and citizens. Over the past year, especially during the campaigns for the presidency, these metropolitan issues have reached a new peak. A lack of transparency and understanding between citizens and police have ravaged certain communities within cities.

Mike Boston, a 41-year-old musician and entrepreneur (who, coincidentally, shares the name of the city in which he lives), is working tirelessly from the back of his pick-up truck to end the vicious cycle of police brutality and backlash against police. Applying his passion for the arts and civic engagement as the cornerstone of his mission, Boston has created Mobile Stu, a portable recording studio in the back of his truck, which he drives across Boston’s neighborhoods to let people record their truths.

Children, adults of every age, and police officers all spit rhymes into Boston’s microphone. The main campaign associated with Mobile Stu is #blackwithblue, which has proven to be a success in de-escalating police-community tensions across the Boston area. Boston has found that the clearest path to improving relationships among all sorts of people is through a pure expression of truth under the creative liberties that accompany transparency and hope.

Read the Full Story Here (via Fast Company)

Here’s what else we’re reading:

How Bracelets Are Saving Newborns' Lives

Photo: City Lab

About 1 in 3 babies born in India are dangerously underweight, with research indicating that close to 92 percent of all newborns are at risk of hypothermia. In the hopes of changing these statistics and saving lives, Bempu, a Bangalore-based startup, developed a baby bracelet that continuously monitors temperatures. Bempu has distributed the bracelet for free to public hospitals and at low cost to private hospitals. By enabling medical professionals to quickly identify low body temperatures, they can save lives and drastically decrease unnecessary deaths. (via City Lab)

Coasters That Promote Consent

Photo: Upworthy

Aisle 4, a Toronto-based company, is partnering with Canadian bars to produce artistic coasters with powerful meanings to aid the movement against sexual assault. Their program, called “On the Table,” serves as a silent, but powerful, reminder to respect consent and listen to your gut. The goal is, in effect, to lay the truth on the table and promote a creative approach to openness and social understanding as an effort to maintain safe spaces. Rather than putting the onus on someone to escape a dangerous situation, the goal is for the community as a whole to prevent dangerous situations entirely. (via Upworthy)

Photo header via Fast Company

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