4th of July Events Planned - Join Us!

Democracy Unlimited is planning some fun and educational actions for
July 4th and we need your help!

From noon-1pm we will be holding a giant freeway banner on one of the Arcata 101 overpasses that reads:

Then at the Arcata July 4th festival we will take over a spot of lawn on the plaza to perform a skit (written thanks to Paul Benson and one of our summer interns) a few times throughout the festival.

Totaling no more than ten minutes or so, the skit is a humorous take on Corporate Personhood and how corporations have been granted the same rights as people.

The skit will be an allegory of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (a man's creation) and how he gets out of control and the creator can no longer control his creation. The doctor's role will be played by a corporate lawyer, while the brain is being taken from a regular citizen holding the Bill of Rights. The vehicle by which the brain is transferred is the Supreme Court. Check out the script here (still in draft form).

This Friday (July 1) starting at 4pm, we will be hosting a work party of sorts at the Duck House (1402 M Street, Eureka) to help finalize these efforts. We will be putting together costumes, set pieces, and props. It would be a delight if you'd be willing to come help us!

• a black graduation gown (for the Supreme Court Justice)
• fake money
• some blue tarp, blanket, etc. to act as the "ocean"
• a gavel
• two slinkies (as part of the machine that creates the "corporate person")

We will also be working on tasks such as making picket signs for protesters. Also, if you are willing to act, we will be running a rehearsal around 5pm. Anyone is welcome to stay to watch the rehearsal and participate. We plan to have you all out of here around 6:00-6:30 so as to not take up too much of your Friday. We'll provide some treats!

• 3-5 people to take parts in the performance (these are small parts, very little line memorization necessary). Please plan to be available from 11am-3pm.
• a crew of 3-6 people to help us collect Move to Amend petition signatures and pass out leaflets letting folks know about the performance and Corporate Personhood in general (can be the same people as the cast). Please plan to be available from 11am-3pm.
• 4 people to hold our freeway banner. This is an extremely low risk arrest situation. As long as we don't block the sidewalk or attach our banner to the freeway (we will hold it with PVC poles - it is extremely light-weight) we will not be violating any laws. It will be fun!

Thank you in advance for all of the effort, ideas, creativity, and support you all are willing to share with us! We are very grateful.