Celebrating Democracy Day In Mobile
The vast majority of Americans grew up hearing about how their country had the greatest governing system in the world. Sure we have our problems, but the United States has democracy! You have the right to speak up, the right to vote, and the right to protest. But there is a catch to this all-to-important method of governing a country—the people have to use it to keep it around. Democracy Day is an annual gathering led by civic engagement leaders Alabama Forward that reminds us of this fact.
This year’s event took place in Mobile, and was co-hosted by one of Alabama Forward’s member organizations Stand Up Mobile. Friday kicked off a busy weekend with the “Democracy: Now Or Never” Community Summit. This educational event consisted of panels and discussions led by leaders of pro-democratic movements including Alabama Values Executive Director Anneshia Hardy. AV’s Senior Creative Associate, Kevin Crook, also spoke as part of a panel with the Center for Artistic Activism (C4AA) of which he was a recent Unstoppable Voters fellow. Two C4AA representatives, David and Rebecca, traveled to Alabama to assist Kevin and the Alabama Values team with a massive interactive display on Saturday, which will be discussed shortly.
Back to Friday! When the conference festivities wrapped up, there was a welcoming reception that featured some of the most impactful organizations in the state as attendees. People’s Budget Birmingham, Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, Transform Alabama, Shake The Field, and many more were present. It was equally beautiful and inspirational to witness organizations from North, Central, and South Alabama meeting in one location.
Saturday morning was the Democracy Day festival, which boasted an all-star lineup of Alabama musicians including the winner of Season 25 of The Voice, Asher HaVon. It was a hot and humid day but snow cones, ice cold lemonades, and air conditioning inside the AV tents provided the necessary cooling measures for all to enjoy the many activities planned throughout the event.
The AV display was front and center at Mardi Gras Park. Walking up, attendees saw a giant inflatable camera that they could walk into. Once inside, there were two stations set up where people could share why voting was so important to them. The rest of the display wrapped around the back and right side of the camera. People entered through a large inflatable tunnel which had inspirational quotes from Civil Rights heroes including Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., and John Lewis on the side. Music was playing inside the display throughout the event. This led to the tunnel doubling as a line dancing hall when the right song was played, which made for a fun time!
Once visitors made it to the other side of the tunnel there was a card table set up for anyone looking to play a game of Spades in the shade. The next stop asked the question: What does democracy mean to you? The chalkboard where people wrote their answers showed that it meant a whole lot. Toddlers, elders, and everyone in between had a response ready.
“Being able to live as my authentic self!”
“Trusting each other”
“Poder de la gente”
“My son and daughter having a chance at a good life!”
“Democracy means the world to me! To be able to speak, to be able to vote, to be able to grow old, to protect my hood.”
Guests then had an opportunity to have their picture taken and placed on a community wall. This brought even more personality to the answers that were written on the chalkboard. It was a hot Saturday in Mobile, but none of that seemed to matter by the end of the evening. We left feeling inspired—especially by the kids who shared why democracy means so much to them and even assisted our team in taking down our massive display at the end of the night.
As our friends at C4AA noted, the display was immediately embraced by residents of Mob City.
“It’s not often in voting and advocacy work that people proactively approach you, but community members in Mobile were basically doorbusting The Liberation Station before it even opened – wanting to know when they could join in the larger than life and inviting experience that Alabama Values was setting up,” shared Rebecca Crawford Muñoz, Program Director for Unstoppable Voters, “Seeing children find fun (and a cool refuge) in The Liberation Station brought smiles to our faces. They loved being included in the activities and couldn’t resist vamping for the camera in the video recording corner. You can’t fake that type of engagement and cross-generational joy – and we need more of that in voting work.”
Alabama’s future is in good hands. We will see y’all at Democracy Day 2025.
