Yesterday, in The Fulcrum, I wrote about CNN’s commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Live Aid with the start of a four-part documentary series that tells the definitive story of how two rock stars sparked one of the largest global music events in history. Live Aid wasn’t just a concert—it was a cultural earthquake. It showed the world that music, media, and mass mobilization could converge to meet a moment of moral urgency.
As CNN’s new documentary series commemorates that legacy, I find myself asking: could we do it again? Could we summon that same creative force—not for famine relief but for the future of our democracy?
A New Kind of Cultural Catalyst
We need more than nostalgia. We need reinvention.
Today’s civic crisis demands a new kind of cultural catalyst—one that speaks in the language of now. One that doesn’t just entertain but educates, activates, and unites. One that meets Americans where they are: in schools, town halls, and civic festivals. One that turns the Constitution into a chorus, civic texts into spoken word, and democratic ideals into a shared beat.
A "Futures Happening" Approach
Lisa Kay Solomon, futurist in residence at the Stanford d.school understands well why we must co-create new dreams and possibilities in joyful and generative ways. The Futures Happening: Civic Edition Playbook that Solomon co-created explored the power of leading like a civic futurist—using bold imagination to see new possibilities, building them with others, and testing out new ideas, even when the path ahead isn’t clear.
There are many ways schools, communities, and civic leaders can inspire people to take action to create the future they want.
Lisa understands that the challenges we face sometimes seem daunting:
“We know that a single gathering cannot solve the many challenges our democracy is facing right now; and yet, we also know that if we don’t spend time working on more positive postures and possibilities for our future, we risk staying in a constant state of reactive despair, or worse, disengagement.”
THE POSSIBILITIES ARE MANY
The Democracy Roadshow: The Rooms Where We Rise
Inspired by the kinetic brilliance of Hamilton and the mass mobilization of Live Aid, this traveling multimedia experience reimagines democracy as a living, breathing act of collective creation. It’s part concert, part teach-in, part revival for the republic. And it’s built for this moment.
Why Now?
Democratic fatigue and concern are real for millions of Americans:
- Nearly 70% of Americans feel disconnected from political power.
- Young people are disillusioned—craving purpose but distrusting institutions.
- Civic education is under siege.
And yet, the hunger for belonging, for agency, for voice is growing.
We need a civic infrastructure that doesn’t just inform—it inspires. That doesn’t just teach—it moves. That doesn’t just preach—it performs.
What It Might Look Like
Imagine this:
- “Our Shot” — a hip-hop anthem of civic agency, echoing Hamilton’s defiance but grounded in today’s urgency.
- “The First Draft” — a remix of the Constitution’s origin story, told through spoken word and multimedia.
- “The Remix” — a mashup of protest chants across generations, from Selma to Standing Rock.
- “The Room Where We Rise” — a multilingual choral piece on belonging, with a refrain that declares: “We’re not just in the room—we’re building it.”
- “The Encore” — youth-led visions for the next draft of democracy.
Taking from Hamilton, a remix to the rhythm of “My Shot,” with new lyrics for the time we are living in, goes something like this:
I’m just like my country — young, scrappy, and wide-eyed,
But I won’t let this moment just pass me by.
I see the cracks in the system, the weight of the lie,
But I still believe in the power of the “We” — so I try.
I’m not throwin’ away my voice,
Not lettin’ apathy be my choice.
Democracy’s a beat — and we all got a verse,
So I’m steppin’ to the mic, for better or worse.
At every stop, audiences don’t just watch—they participate. They write down what “taking their shot” means to them. Some are read aloud. Others become part of a growing archive of civic imagination.
Each venue receives a tailored activation toolkit. Settings and components:
- Schools: Curriculum companion, student remix challenge, youth town halls
- Town Halls: Pop-up performance kit, story circles, civic action wall
- Civic: Open-mic tent, democracy passport, art & action stations
- Interactive Festivals: A mixture of choreographed and spontaneous performances, involving music, dance, spoken word, or chant that erupts in a public space—like a town square, park, or festival stage that is a mixtape for democracy. A rehearsal for once passive spectators transforming into active participants. A joyful, memorable, and symbolic experience—a literal embodiment of “the people rising” together in rhythm and purpose. Invoking, once again, the Hamilton theme, imagine a crowd at a civic festival suddenly joining in a multilingual chorus of “The Room Where We Rise,” with coordinated movement and signs that say “Our Shot,” “We Belong,” or “We’re Building It.”
We’re inviting visionary funders, artists, educators, and civic practitioners to help us launch the 2025–2026 pilot tour in five to seven cities with high civic potential and cultural vibrancy. Feel free to write us at:
- Artists: Help us shape the sound, the visuals, the story. Bring your craft to the cause.
- Educators and civic leaders: Partner with us to embed this work in classrooms and communities.
- Funders and cultural institutions: Join us in building a civic stage that moves hearts and minds.
Let’s Build the Rooms
We believe democracy isn’t just defended at the ballot box—it’s revived in the public square, the classroom, and the cultural stage. It’s not static. It’s not sterile. It’s not someone else’s job. It’s ours.
So, let’s build the rooms. Let’s remix the republic. Let’s make democracy sing again—not as a relic of the past but as a rhythm for the future.
This is our shot. Our truth. Our time.
a long hallway with a bunch of lockers in it Photo by Matthew Ansley on Unsplash 
