| This is written by Connie Hannah, Mid-Atlantic regional director for
Virginia, but it is directly applicable to New Jersey, and can be done
with as few as 3 to 6 people, and need not be confined to April 20th.
At the last Virginia March Steering Committee meeting, Holly Hatcher
presented her idea for a statewide "burma shave "-type demonstration. The
plan is to have it on April 20th at rush hour in locations around the
state. I am asking you to do it as often as possible at different high-traffic areas around your city and campus.
Holly Hatcher of the Steering Committee has provided the following
information:
Burma Shave messages are pretty easy to put together. A "Burma Shave" is an
action intended to attract attention and get our message out. Although relatively easy to organize, visibility events do require advanced planning
and considerable people power. "Burma Shave" refers to the types of roadside advertising used by the Burma Shave company starting in the
1920's. For historic examples, go to:
http://www.mc.cc.md.us/Departments/hpolscrv/mthomas.htm
Burma Shave demonstrations raise awareness about an issue or event by getting passers-by to read one word or phrase of a short, powerful message
at a time. Each word/phrase in the message gets its own poster board, and
the posters are held far apart in succession in a high traffic area:
Your message should be short and catchy.
"Honk to stop politicians from making medical decisions - Go to
marchforchoice.org!"
or
"VIRGINIANS WILL MARCH FOR WOMEN'S LIVES SUNDAY APRIL 25TH WASHINGTON DC --
go to www.marchforwomen.org"
Write out each word/phrase of your message on a separate piece of large,
bright poster board (depending on how many people show up - you might need
more than one word per poster board), and make sure the words are clearly
legible from a long distance away. For example, if you have enough volunteers to hold individually worded signs:
Sign 1 - HONK
Sign 2 - TO
Sign 3 - STOP
Sign 4 - Politicians
Sign 5 - playing
Sign 6 - etc.
If you don't have enough volunteers, try putting short phrases on each sign:
Sign 1 - Politicians playing doctor
Sign 2 - hazardous to women's health!
Sign 3 - go to marchforchoice.org
It is also possible to attach the posters to wire frames (used by candidates) if you do not have enough people to hold the signs.
Choose a high traffic road or bridge with roomy sidewalks, or a major walkway during rush hour.
Consider writing words on both sides of the signs so your message can be
read in the proper order by cars traveling in both directions, or do the
Burma Shave demonstration on both sides of the road.
Do a drive or walk-by test to make sure the message is clear from both
directions.
Have enough people power to allow frequent switching off, but a group of
10-15 volunteers should do. It's ideal to have about five groups of three
people holding each section of the message so that it's spread out along
the roadway.
Use thick cardboard or another light but sturdy material for your signs, as
wind will make your message hard to read. Use bold colored markers and large, block letters.
Reinforce your signs by laminating them so that they can be used again.
Research the safety of the site and restrictions or permits needed for public events.
Bring March literature and bus tickets. If you are on a city thoroughfare,
post a yar sale-type sign that says: "March Literature and Bus Tickets" and
an arrow to a side street where you can safely distribute literature and
sell tickets out of the way of traffic.
Shout chants to use while holding the signs. Examples:
Not the church, not the state Women must decide our fate
Our bodies, our lives
Our right to decide!
Right to Life you're name's a lie,
You don't care if women die
What do we want - abortion rights!
When do we want them - NOW!
Back alleys, no more
Abortion rights for rich and poor
Racist, sexist, anti-gay
Born again bigots, go away!
George Bush, hear our call
Women's rights protect us all!
Ho ho, hey hey,
Abortion rights are here to stay
George W, lend an ear,
Your war on women
Stops right here!
Hey, hey, ho, ho
George Bush has got to go!
Hey, he, ho, ho
John Ashcroft has got to go
Burma Shaves give activists an opportunity to:
* join together in a communal experience to publicly express support, concern, outrage and/or solidarity around a common theme or cause
* express to the larger community the shared, impassioned convictions of
the vigil attendees on the issue at hand
* meet other March For Women supporters
* build a closer relationship to the affiliate
March For Women benefits because it helps us to
* offer another fun opportunity in which supporters to become involved
* create a pro-choice community
* build stronger relationships between supporters and affiliate staff
* create earned media
* identify new activists and volunteers for future events and activities
We hope that you will Burma Shave with us! Holly plans to send a sample
media advisory in a couple of weeks. I will pass it along. Please let me
know if you have any questions! Remember, this will help sell tickets and
grow your car pools - Don't wait till 4/20th!
Connie |
