Presenting the Ultimate Challenge

Terrone Cuthrell – Writer

“I wake up every single day, and I think ‘what can I do to give young people a better chance of living a happy life.” Those powerful words were from none other than Michael Skolnik, amongst many other things, he is known as a modern day activist.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Skolnik to find out more about the person he is, his goals, and how he’s achieved the things he’s achieved.

Working for Global Grind. 

Global Grind is the ultimate source of current and popular news, as it matters to hip-hop and pop culture, with the title “The World According to Hip-Pop.”

Skolnik began at this company in 2009 as the political editor and upon his great performance he was named Editor-In-Chief in 2011. He also holds the title of President of Global Grind.

Sharing multiple news stories for people makes for a variable collection of topics. But, amongst those stories are a collection of powerful pieces by Michael Skolnik, most of which deal with social injustice. Skolnik has a collection of stories on the site entitled “He Has A Name” or “She Has A Name”, depending on the sex. These pieces tell the stories of young people who’ve been wrongly killed due to irresponsibility, lack of concern, and racial profiling. “He Has A Name: Trayvon Martin” is one the most popular of the collection.

Over 750 of the “…Has A Name” stories have been made over the last couple of years, and the number is still growing. Another hard-hitting article by Skolnik would be his white-privilege piece.

Entitled “White People, You Will Never Look Suspicious Like Trayvon Martin!” This article directly confronts how white people in America have certain natural privileges, such as not having to pay before eating at a restaurant, and the freedom of wearing white sneakers and a hoodie without being harassed. Before writing the article, Skolnik thought to himself “I’m going to write something about white people; something about myself,” and that he did! The content of this article was very awakening, and quite frankly, long overdue. But, Skolnik took the initiative, as a white man, to speak out on this issue. And that is a testament to the type of person he is- a risk-taker with only the best intentions at heart.

His Involvement in Trayvon Martin Case. 

As a lot of us know, the death of Trayvon Martin shook the entire country. Stories were circulating on social media about the February 26, 2012 homicide, as well as on CNN. As black reporters on news channels were speaking on the case, Skolnik realized that there were few, if any, white reporters directly speaking out about the case. So, with that observation he began to write. On March 8 of 2012, “He Has A Name: Trayvon Martin” was released on Global Grind, and that story became a national conversation.

Upon the release of the story, Skolnik began to receive lots of unfamiliar attention. “We had no idea”, said Skolnik about the impact the story had on America.

Skolnik was called to speak on CNN with news anchor Don Lemon, regarding the topic of white-privilege in comparison to racial profiling. The conversation had its heated moments, and there were a few misinterpretations, but it was understood that Skolnik felt strongly about Trayvon Martin and telling his story.

In the effort of telling Martin’s story, Skolnik had gained a lot of attention from celebrities who desired to help—particularly Gabrielle Union. The actress, and friend of Skolnik, gave him a call asking if there was any way that she and her fiancée Dwayne Wade could help. Skolnik, understanding the power of social media, simply asked them to put on hoodies and post the picture on a social network. Shortly after that conversation, Dwayne Wade posted a picture of The Heat wearing their hoodies. By that time, Trayvon Martin had become a household name.

His Opinion On His Image. 

As someone who was unfamiliar to this type of writing, I was naturally drawn to the fact that a white man was gravitating towards writing in favor of black people. However, Mr. Skolnik’s actions can easily be misinterpreted as I experienced in our interview when I asked the question “Were you worried about speaking so strongly against white people?” At the time, it was my understanding that Skolnik was unhappy with white people, and was speaking out against them, however that is not the case. He clarified that he’s never spoken against white people. “That’d be me speaking against myself or my mother or my father or my brother or my grandparents, who I love dearly,” he said in response to that question. He went on to say that he challenges white people.

In his piece “White People, You Will Never Look Suspicious Like Trayvon Martin!” he mentions the “silence” his white friends had when it came to the death of Martin. With that being said, he’s challenging the white population to break that silence; to shine a light on the more overlooked, yet pressing, events in our country. Also, he’s challenging them to promote equality amongst the entire population. “I’ve made the choice today to tell my white friends that the rights I take for granted are only valid if I fight to give those same rights to others,” wrote Skolnik in the article.

What’s He Up To Now? 

Currently, Skolnik is doing a lot of traveling to different states to speak with the people about the issue of racial profiling, criminal injustice, and young peoples’ importance.

Coincidentally, I got this interview by attending a speech by Skolnik where he talked about how young people can use media to change the world—in a positive way. The speech was at the Sheraton Hotel in New York City. He spoke in front of hundreds of student journalists from across the nation about how the different media outlets on campus can become our platforms for spreading the word. He truly moved a lot of people on that day, including myself.

Michael Skolnik is someone we all can learn from, not just whites or blacks, male or females—everyone. We need more people stepping out of their comfort zone to ensure that change occurs in our country. Even if one person reads this and feels inspired, then maybe they’ll share this with others and so forth.

Sitting and waiting for something to happen is not enough, and simply talking with your friends about what your “gonna” do isn’t enough either. There’s plenty that we can do. We could hold more events that focus on the importance of image and branding yourself. Also, a huge way of inspiring positive change in others is to succeed. When people around you see you succeed they may feel more motivated to change so they can obtain the same success. We could also use our social media accounts and all of the resources we have on campus to start a massive movement in this community. From this community it may expand to the city of Fayetteville, the State of North Carolina, and then the East Coast—you get the idea, start small. And that means starting with yourself.

No drunk can inform against drinking beer. No gambler can inform against playing the lottery. We must practice what we preach if we want to truly inspire people. We can’t let ourselves become another statistic for an innocent bystander being killed, or another black person being harassed by the police due to sagging. Do what you need to do to maintain your own image and credibility. In closing, I’d like to share this idea that I have lived by since President Barack Obama said it in speech, “We are the change that we seek!”