Katie Monroe, Philadelphia, PA, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent
There’s a great quote from activist Emma Goldman – it comes in various forms, but basically it says, “A revolution without dancing is not a revolution worth having.” I couldn’t agree more.
Philadelphia’s Hollaback chapter has been doing a lot of innovative work lately – from launching a subway ad campaign that got tons of press last year, to helping create a comic book about street harassment, to managing to get a City Council hearing about street harassment this past fall, they’ve been working hard.
But they’ve never had a dance party before. Until April 5, during International Anti-Street Harassment Week.
The party’s at Underground Arts in Philadelphia, an awesome space that hosted the bar for Philly’s LiveArts/Fringe Festival for the past few years. Doors are at 8pm, $5 presale (http://tktwb.tw/1kLRxfL) /$8 at the door. There will be various DJs, spoken word, and more, all to benefit HollabackPHILLY.
Rochelle Keyhan, Founder and Director of HollabackPHILLY, says, “We’ve been talking about wanting to have a dance party frequently over the past few years. It would be a great way to rally behind a cause in a more lighthearted setting than our usual events. Despite wanting a dance party, we were never quite sure of how to pull it off. Last Fall we heard about Get Lucid and loved what they were doing, so reached out to them about partnering up. We met with the awesome Get Lucid team, Pete, Miguel, and Cedric, planned this event to coincide with Anti Street Harassment Day, and couldn’t be more excited!
We went to the last Get Lucid party which fundraised for Philly Urban Creators, and the crowd and vibe was so supportive and energetic, while highlighting a great cause in our community. We’re excited to see who else Get Lucid highlights throughout the year!”
For those not in the know, Get Lucid! The Activist Dance Party describes itself as “featur[ing] a blend of innovative local musicians and djs with unique visual and performance art. The result is a visceral experience for attendees, where we hope to unite passion with activism. Get Lucid! provides a safe, fun, and collaborative environment for all communities to network and rally around local social justice initiatives, for which the Get Lucid! events themselves become a tool for promotion and fundraising.”
Sounds good to me! As someone who’s experienced plenty of harassment – verbal and physical – on dance floors in Philadelphia, it’s exciting to imagine a dance floor full of folks who are all there because they respect the other humans dancing around them… perhaps I’ll be able to actually dance without being groped, leered at, aggressively approached from behind, etc.
RSVP on Facebook here / Get your presale tickets here.
See you there!
Katie Monroe founded the Women Bike PHL campaign at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and she works at the Philly nonprofit Gearing Up, which gives some of Philadelphia’s most marginalized women – those in transition from incarceration, addiction, and/or abuse – the opportunity to ride bicycles for exercise, transportation, and personal growth. Follow her on Twitter, @cmon_roe.
