Unfinished Live, held September 2022 in New York City and virtually, invited leading experts and engaged people to contribute to shaping our digital future where new technologies and policies enable a stronger democracy, a fairer economy, and a more just society. The annual conference is held by Independent Sector member Unfinished, which works to strengthen our civic life in the digital age.
Independent Sector invited a cohort of leaders from organizations that support underrepresented and underserved communities to attend Unfinished Live. Their attendance and subsequent reflections help support our work to amplify and learn from their experiences and how they see a new web creating more opportunities for the communities they serve.
Kevin McNair. Photo by Kurt Weber
We spoke with Kevin McNair, community leader and Co-Founder and Executive Director of 1Nation Mentoring, about his Pittsburgh nonprofit’s work, attending Unfinished Live, and his reflections about both and the communities he serves.
IS: Could you tell us about your nonprofit organization?
KM: At 1Nation Mentoring, we encourage positive behavior change and healthy life decisions by providing a holistic, supportive approach to changing the negative narrative about African-American youth and young adults. We partner with public, private, and charter schools and provide them with community mentors to help students navigate and view school as an opportunity to fulfill dreams – rather than an obligation they’re forced to meet.
This emphasis of a mindset of long-term progress and support allows students to grow and reignite their purpose in these spaces. We serve males and females, ages 12 to 24, from grade school to college, and in school and communities. The work we do is important to our communities and future generations. I see the disconnect our youth have with education, and how the interest has shifted from dreams of the NFL to being a YouTube sensation. I see our work as instrumental in providing youth of color with identifiable role models in school and for being the first line of defense in the “School to Prison” pipeline. Mentoring is a lifetime role. The steps we take – individually, collectively, societally – are important because we’re aiming for generational progress.
IS: How did you hear about Independent Sector and Unfinished Live?
KS: I heard about Independent Sector through Dr. Jamil Bey, founder and CEO of UrbanKind. He suggested I contact Habib Bako, who works on Independent Sector’s Community Building team, about attending the Unfinished Live conference in September. I didn’t know what to expect as I don’t consider myself a tech-savvy person. But I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity because I knew I would learn valuable information about how technology and equity relate to communities, as well as emerging trends. I knew, too, I would have the chance to meet industry experts and better understand how to implement ideas from technology into the nonprofit sector – and the work we do at 1NationMentoring.
IS: What were your impressions of Unfinished Live? What did you learn?
KM: I’m glad I attended. Shoshana Zuboff’s speech on Surveillance Democracy really opened my eyes into the inequities of systems and alogrithms that affect the population of people that I serve, and how there is essentially no privacy on the internet.
I learned through the Holly Artificial Intelligence (AI) experience about what could happen in the future, and how for the right price you could eventually pay someone to use the likeness of their voice. This was certainly eye opening and scary. According to the presentation, I might be able to lease former President Barack Obama’s voice for a campaign and tell everyone to donate to my nonprofit. We are a great nonprofit cause, no doubt, but this type of technology also might enable someone to rent my grandmother’s voice and call her kids and grandkids to ask for money for a medical emergency. This made me think about people who have money to manipulate these devices, and the negative impact it could have in communities – especially the youth and families I work with at 1NationMentoring.
I had a great time connecting with and learning about the amazing work of attendees at Unfinished Live. Byron Saunders, president and CEO of Big Thought in Dallas, was one of those I had the opportunity to meet and build with. Saunders is truly doing some transformational work in the Dallas area. Since I’ve been back in Pittsburgh, my research has been geared around what we spoke about with the Web 3.0 development, understanding how we are currently using web-based programming to affect the people we serve, and how to better capture the right information to help our organizations grow.
Within the next few years, I intend to create a technology pathway for youth and young adults who are part of 1Nation Mentoring so they can be better prepared for the future. I need them to see themselves as being solutions to technological-based problems in the digital age. I can never forget the powerful words of Malcolm X: “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
IS: Thanks for speaking with us. Any closing thoughts?
KM: I appreciate Independent Sector for providing me with the opportunity to be part of the Unfinished Live conference. My participation has given me important insights to better prepare me and 1Nation Mentoring for the future. This knowledge and these reflections will ultimately affect the lives of people with whom I cross paths. Unfinished Live opened me up to things I didn’t even know that I didn’t know. I appreciate that. This reminds me that life is a journey of knowledge. For us – either individually or collectively – to find new solutions or contribute to them, we must continue learning together.
Bradley Wong is director of strategic communications and public relations at Independent Sector. The top photo is courtesy of 1Nation Mentoring. Unfinished, an Independent Sector member, is a network of networks bringing together the collective efforts of partners to strengthen our civic life in the digital age.
