Lawrence.com

Beauty Slays the Beast (BSTB), a local activist group, and aclu2, an auxiliary group of the American Civil Liberties Union, join forces to present Power to the People A Tent Revival, Saturday, September 17, 2005, to energize and inspire patriotic activism, revive the discouraged and issue a call to action to defend civil liberties. Power to the People will begin at 2PM at the Fahrenheit Ballroom, 1717 W. 9th St, Kansas City, MO, and continue until 2AM. This unique event will feature live music, performances, a Bill of Rights midway, food from local businesses, a cake walk and activist "preachers." The Reverend Ernie Locke will preside.Admission is $12 in advance or $15 at the door and includes a plate of down-home food while supplies last. Tickets can be purchased in advance from Birdies, 116 W. 18th Street, Dyeabolique, 1222 W. 39th Street, and online at www.aclu2.org. Proceeds from the event will support outreach efforts of aclu2 to educate a new generation of ACLU members and raise awareness of the importance of civil liberties among young Kansas Citians. This is an all-ages event.The event will feature entertainment from various groups including The Shebangs, Doris Henson, Andy Graham & the Moment Band, The Afterparty, "I", E-Vent, Iglesia de Fe de Jesucristo, Phase II, Deep Thinkers, KC5 and the Reverends Brodie Rush and Crosby. "We will call on the spirit of freedom to cast out the demons of apathy and send Kansas Citians forth, armed with the knowledge of the liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights," testified Reverend Locke."We hope people will enjoy themselves and be moved to action at this untraditional revival," said BSTB founder Sarah Beasley. "Historically, the tent revival has been a means of awakening individual spirituality within a communal setting. Power to the People draws upon this tradition to move the community to actively protect individual freedoms and do it in an entertaining way," continued Beasley. "The ACLU was founded in 1920 and it has consistently fought to uphold the Bill of Rights hopefully we can alert people to some of the issues it's currently addressing," said aclu2 Chair Sarah Spearman. "The purpose of this event is to revive Kansas City's commitment to civil liberties and remind everyone of what the ACLU has done to protect those liberties," continued Spearman. "And hopefully some of them will leave as card-carrying members."Aclu2 was formed in January of 2005 with the purpose of encouraging a new generation of ACLU membership among young Kansas Citians. Its mission is to impact a new generation and increase ACLU membership through education and resource development. For more information about aclu2: www.aclu2.org.Beauty Slays the Beast is a group of true patriots fighting apathy, hesitancy and silence in Kansas City by fusing fun artistic and provocative endeavors with local, state and national political issues.