Democracy Town Criers is a creative initiative born of the collaboration between coalition members having backgrounds both in theater and social justice activism. Its vision is to empower and equip ordinary people to lean into lawful but disruptive action, build affinity groups of trusted allies within a broader network, and draw attention to important issues among the community at large.
Historical Significance
Prior to widespread literacy, town criers were the primary form of communication with the people of a town, since so many could not read or write. Our problem today is similar, but with an important difference: far too many people have tuned out news and politics. While they could read plenty of true and important information about the dangers of the Trump regime if they chose to, far too many don’t.
Trump supporters, of course, have bought into the cult of his lies and refuse to engage with the facts. Many others have simply opted out of seeking the information that everyone needs if we’re going to save our democracy. That means the time is ripe for Tucsonans and Americans of all stripes to non-violently but disruptively spread the news - about the danger we’re in, and how to join the Civil Resistance. Generically, this kind of action is known as a “flash mob”; but we’ve chosen “Democracy Town Criers” to emphasize what we’re trying to save, and the actions we can take to do so.