COLLIER FREEDOM PRESENTS THE TRUTH & DEMOCRACY ONLINE RALLY

Marking the one-year anniversary of January 6th, and ongoing voter rights suppression, TRUTH & DEMOCRACY ONLINE RALLY aims to restore Truth & defend Democracy

NAPLES, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, January 11, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Collier Freedom, Southwest Florida’s leading social justice non-profit, responsible for organizing all the Naples Women’s Marches, as well as countless vigils, demonstrations, workshops, and protests since 2017, now announces a nationally live-streamed rally entitled TRUTH & DEMOCRACY to take place on January 15th at 5:00 pm EST, with all-star speakers, musical interludes and a color guard of local veterans.

The events of January 6, 2021, marked a horrific chapter in American history; and we now stand at a threshold when our nation’s most basic democratic institutions are under assault as perhaps never before. Large swaths of the American public find themselves in the grip of conspiracy theorists bent on spreading corrosive disinformation. There is also a deliberate and pervasive effort to undermine voting rights by enacting voter suppression laws, implementing partisan gerrymandering, and placing political operatives in otherwise non-partisan municipal and state election offices. These are alarming trends that, when taken together, pose an existential threat to the American experiment as we know it. We are truly at a crossroads for the future of American democracy.

The TRUTH & DEMOCRACY National Rally is an attempt to recenter our body politic on the ideals upon which this country was founded, including free and fair elections for all and a renunciation of divisive disinformation and lies. Because of COVID, Collier Freedom elected to transform the event from an in-person march and rally to an online event. The advantage of an online streamed event is that we can reach a national audience. As of this date, we are engaging with audiences across 50 states, with Florida, California, Texas, New York, PA, OH, IL, MI, WA, and IN rounding out the top ten.

Keynote Speakers for the online TRUTH & DEMOCRACY rally include Texas State Representative Jasmine Crockett, now a candidate for Texas’ 30th Congressional District. Representative Crockett helped lead a walkout of her caucus, forestalling a quorum and heroically delaying the enactment of repressive voter restrictions in her home state of Texas. Our other keynote speaker is Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Nikki Fried, who is a candidate for Governor of Florida in 2022. Commissioner Fried has been a fierce and vocal critic of Florida’s recently passed Senate Bill 90, which tightens rules for drop boxes and voting by mail.

Additional speakers include longtime ACLU lawyer, David Millstein; Annisa Karim, environmentalist, co-chair of the Muslim Democratic Caucus of Florida and current Chair of the Collier County Democratic Party; Jennifer Boddicker, microbiologist, teacher, and activist; and Joel Searby, National Political Director of the Renew America Movement, a group of disaffected Republicans and Independents who are attempting to restore the bedrock values of the Republican Party.

The organizers wish to emphasize that patriotism and national pride are not the sole purviews of the radical right. Thus, the rally will open with the singing of the National Anthem by 28-year-old opera singer, Georgi Goldstein and the honoring of a color guard of local and regional veterans, including. John Reynolds, US Army 1966-68; Diane Oczkowski, Air National Guard 1979-1981 & Army Reserve from 1983-1985; Pamela Hostetter, US Army 1974-78; Mike O’Brian, US Marine Corp 1975-1980 & US Army 1981-2007; Chuck Theisen, US Navy 1958-1979; Commander Richard Anderson, US Navy 1967-1971; Steve Duckworth, US Navy 1962-1967; and Michael Patterson, US Army Specialist E4 1997-2005.

In addition, midway through the program, there will be a musical appearance by Nashville-based, Grammy-winning pianist and composer, Will Barrow, singing his original interpretation of “America the Beautiful.”

With a mix of speakers, veterans, and musicians, Collier Freedom intends to present an evening that is both entertaining and informative at this critical juncture in American history. Organizers also plan to include action items the audience can take away, presenting opportunities for viewers to not just observe, but to participate and reinforce the monumental constitutional principles upon which this nation was founded.

Video Teaser for Truth & Democracy Online Rally
Truth & Democracy_01.04.21.mp4 - Google Drive
FB Event page: https://fb.me/e/1vAqdfAKu

Contact:
KC Schulberg
Member, Collier Freedom
239 784-0880 / kcs@wwom.com

Collier Freedom Mission Statement:
To create an inclusive community regardless of race, nationality, faith or sexual orientation for a common vision of freedom, equality, and social justice.

KC Schulberg
Collier Freedom
+1 239-784-0880
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