Some know Van Jones as a talking head on CNN brought in to give a liberal view on race and the world. Some know Jones as Obama’s “Green Czar” who was an early casualty of Republican obstructionism and the general attitudes that have resulted in Donald Trump and Ted Cruz being the GOP’s only viable candidates. [I]t has become more and more clear that the artist and musician and pop icon Prince was a friend of Jones and the two men worked together in the hopes of helping uplift our society’s most vulnerable groups—young people of color…. Jones was interviewed by Don Lemon last night…[he] was emotional but determined to illuminate the public on how much charity work, how much humanitarian work, how much thought and effort the departed Prince put into trying to make the world a better place.
As a native of Minnesota, I was well aware of Prince’s relationship with, and importance to, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I was never a huge fan of his music, but I admired his surpassing, undeniable talent and creativity…and, in retrospect, his astonishing and deliberately silent commitment to making the world a better place.
Since Prince’s death, many who were close to him have broken their silence about Prince’s deep and abiding humanitarianism. As a Jehovah’s Witness, Prince couldn’t speak about his generosity and good works…which evidently were legion. It’s sad that it took his passing for the world to recognize and understand just how much we’ve lost. It’s not just about the music, though that loss is certainly worth mourning. Far more importantly, the world has lost a person who truly went above and beyond, putting his fame and his money to use in an effort to do what he could to make the world a better place.
With the surfeit of anger, hatred, and recrimination extant in the world today, it’s easy to lose sight of the truth that humanity can be so more than the rage-twisted face we see and the ugly, hateful words we hear on the news. Sometimes it takes people like Prince to remind us that we- all of us- have the power to impact our world. We have the ability to help make our world a better place, to create opportunities for others who may lack the resources and/or ability to do it for themselves.
There was a core of genius that he used music to express himself, but he was also an incredible humanitarian, Don. He was a Jehovah’s Witness and wasn’t allowed to speak publicly about any of his good acts, any of his charitable acts….
Jones says the idea for YesWeCode took root when he was discussing race with his friend after the Trayvon Martin verdict.
“Every time you see a black kid wearing a hoodie, you say: There’s a thug. If you see a white kid wearing hoodie, you say: There’s Mark Zuckerberg,” Jones told USA TODAY last year.
“I said, ‘That’s because of racism. And Prince said, ‘Maybe so, or maybe you civil rights guys haven’t created enough Mark Zuckerbergs.’”
It’s sad that the world never knew of the contributions Prince made during his life, nor of his commitment to do what was within his (considerable) power and ability to change the world. His selfless commitment to doing good would undoubtedly have been considered worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize- exactly the sort of adulation and attention he shunned.
Though Prince remained a very private person, those who knew him well understood him to be a kind, generous, and selfless sort who wouldn’t pass on an opportunity to do something he thought could make a difference.
In a world where someone like Antonin Scalia is lauded as a fine human being when he was- publicly, at least- anything but, it’s too bad that the well-earned adulation and respect for Prince is postmortem. Then again, he evidently neither wanted or needed public acclimation. He left the world having truly made a difference. His contributions positively impacted the lives of countless people, many of whom are unaware that Prince was behind the effort to raise them up.
How many of us will depart this mortal realm secure in the knowledge that this world is a better place for us having been a part of it?
