This is Crowdsourcing Mornings! This post takes place every weekday morning and highlights one crowdsourcing project I liked from Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or other crowdsourcing websites.
Please read our crowdsourcing guidelines at: https://geekalabama.com/media-kit-pr/geek-alabama-crowdsourcing-guidelines
TL;DR In the tradition of the revolutionary broadsides of our past, Thornwillow Press is creating a collection of letterpress broadsides and posters to inspire, unite, and call for action. Anchoring the campaign is a new, redacted edition of The Declaration of Independence, which presents the truths our Founders declared self evident. ‘These Truths’ are as relevant today as they were almost 250 years ago… yet are still not a reality for all. The goal of the campaign is not just to create these broadsides, but to make possible a new VOTE 2020 broadside which calls for voter participation and which will be sent to communities across the country.
In 1776, after the Second Continental Congress accepted and signed the Declaration of Independence, Founders rushed a hand-written copy to the printshop of John Dunlap, who worked through the night to produce 200 broadsides announcing the Declaration of Independence. These broadsides were distributed throughout the thirteen colonies and across the seas, proclaiming the establishment of a new nation, united by a revolutionary idea, powerfully expressed by the printed word. As is the broadside’s habit, the Dunlap Declaration became a potent symbol—a literal sign of change.
History has shown, however, that though all people may be “created equal,” they have rarely been treated equally. The Declaration did not extend these notions of liberty or just treatment to Black and indigenous people, nor did the Founders consider the equality of women. “All MEN are created EQUAL,” they wrote, ironically highlighting their own duplicity.
Today, in the tradition of that revolutionary broadside, we present the text of the Declaration again—finely letterpress printed and annotated in 3 colors, a sign of our ongoing struggle for change… and an acknowledgement that while there has been progress, we have not yet arrived where we need to be.
Printed letterpress in 3 colors, the Redacted Declaration Broadside beautifully reproduces our most important founding document, both celebrating its noble goals and unflinchingly exposing its inconsistencies and faults. Changing colors and marginal notes reflect centuries of change, from a damning rebuke of slavery (cut from Jefferson’s earlier draft), to the gradually expanding meaning of “All Men”, to the struggles for equal treatment which continue today. We have come a long way in the last 244 years, and though we believe the Declaration still serves as a roadmap to a worthy destination, we know we still have a long way to go to achieve its lofty ideals.
As of August 12th, this project has raised $21,000 of their $2,500 goal. This project has 13 days left to raise as much as it can. For a pledge of $30, you will get to vote for your favorite of the artist submitted Vote 2020 broadsides. For a pledge of $50, you will get one copy of the classic edition, printed letterpress in 3 colors on heavy archival stock. To learn more and to pledge money, go to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thornwillow/declaration-signs-of-change?
Categories: Crowdsourcing Mornings Stuff
