Birmingham Indivisible Town Hall features political concerns, questions for senators
Several hundred people packed in the Carver Theatre for the Birmingham Indivisible town hall meeting last weekend.
"We are here today to have our numbers counted and our voices heard," Birmingham Indivisible moderator Shea Rives said.
Birmingham Indivisible, a progressive and grassroots advocacy organization working to voice opposition to members of the current Congress, hosted a town hall at Carver Theatre on Saturday, April 8, from 3-5 p.m., during which audience members voiced questions and concerns addressed to Sen. Richard Shelby and Sen. Luther Strange.
Rives said Birmingham Indivisible was originally started by a moveon.org action. Since the beginning, members have demanded a town hall meeting with both senators on a weekly basis. So far, Rives said both senators have declined to respond to the request.
"I want to be serious and clear about something. We are living in a dangerous time. It really comes down to one thing, Donald Trump," Rives said. He continued to say that he loves this country.
"This, senators, is your wake up call. We and history will see your choices," Rives said.
After Rives' introductory statements, audience members started chants including: "What do we want? Town Hall. When do we want it? Now." and "Tell me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like." Also, "Do your job."
The town hall started with a moment a silence, the national anthem and an introduction, and then the "Sen. Shelby Q&A" began. Since neither senator was present, audience members addressed their questions toward a camera. They lined up on either side of the theater and were recorded asking local, political questions on topics such as tax returns, the education system, the Syrian missile launch, climate change, state finances, disability rights, gender and race equality and protection and other issues, many dealing with President Donald Trump's leadership decisions.
As audience members asked questions, Carole Griffin, dressed in a chicken suit labeled "Shelby" then "Strange," made chicken noises in response to questions. Also on the stage was John Garst, dressed as a farmer, as well as Chris Ivey and Dr. Natalie Davis, who took turns "translating" what Griffin's squawks meant. All the while, Garst led the Griffin around the stage with dollar bills. The "chicken and farmer" act was a comedic break in the serious nature of some questions, organizers said.
In-between the two Q&A sessions, first for Shelby then for Strange, the Politically Incorrect Cabaret performed several songs and a news update.
The entire question sessions were streamed live to Facebook and recorded to be sent to the senators' offices.
Despite the comedic break between some of the questions, the meeting ended on a serious note with a "What Next?" speech from Griffin.
"Ironically, I stand here in a chicken suit, but these are troubling times," Griffin said, remaining in her costume.
"I want to encourage all of you today to keep fighting ... I found, much to my surprise, I'm not alone. I know we show up, we speak up and these small acts may not seem like much," Griffin said.
She went on to say that it takes a great deal of courage sometimes to stand up in the current political climate, but sometimes "it only starts with a phone call."
The following words were displayed on the projector at the end: “Birmingham Indivisible would like to thank all the people who donated their time, effort and money in order to make this event possible. We DO NOT wish to thank Senators Shelby and Strange. We consider their absence to be an affront, and pledge that they have not seen or heard the last of us.”
To learn more about Birmingham Indivisible and upcoming events, go to Birmingham Indivisible's Facebook group or indivisibleguide.com.