Signs of Our Times

Contributed

Carol Kuhiholm, Ph.D. speaks at the Jefferson Educational Society about the need to end gerrymandering at both the state and federal level. She is co-founder and chair of Fair Districts PA.

As co-founder and chair of Fair Districts PA, Carol Kuniholm, Ph.D. travels across Pennsylvania to explain in no-nonsense terms that gerrymandering shuts out citizen voices, causes gridlock in the state House and Senate, and erodes democracy.

Her Aug. 25 talk at the Jefferson Educational Society drew a large crowd, including Paulette Hessinger, organizer for Erie Indivisible, and Lori Morse-Dolan, who has been active in Fair Districts in Erie, in the grassroots group Keep Our Library Public, and in efforts to preserve the history of women's suffrage.

A week after hearing Kuniholm's presentation about the urgent need for more Americans to become "ambassadors for democracy," Hessinger warmly welcomed people as they walked into a meet-up organized by Erie Indivisible to make "pro-democracy and pro-voting" yard signs.

This wasn't an anti-Trump protest. Rather, at the "Arts and Crafts Against Fascism" gathering, in a space offered by Grounded Printshop, 1902 Cherry St., Hessinger encouraged participants to embrace a spirit of "cooperation and collaboration." Preserving democracy should be a non-partisan cause, and outreach efforts, including yard signs, must focus on making people "eager to vote," she said.

At the urging of her daughter in California, Hessinger had researched the national group Indivisible, which advocates for "a real democracy – of, by, and for the people," according to indivisible.org. When she discovered the work of French Creek Indivisible in Edinboro, "I felt like I got a hug. There are other people like me. I'm not weird," she said. In February, she launched an Erie Indivisible group.

Creativity and camaraderie abounded as people used pencils, stencils, paints, and markers to make signs. Vanessa Mazza, Rose Graham, and other volunteers provided materials and a list of suggested slogans, including "Vote Or Be Silenced."

Anna McCartney and other members of Keep Our Library Public (KOLP) know all too well what happens when public voices are silenced.

Since 2023, KOLP has been fighting the decision by Erie County Executive Brenton Davis and Erie County Council to lease part of Blasco Library to Gannon University for its Center for Lake Erie Education and Research (CLEER), Phase 3 of its six-phase Project NePTWNE. KOLP's lawsuit against Davis and Gannon is expected to go to trial in December, even as Gannon has already renovated its space in the library for an anticipated opening in October.

Now, the Save Blasco! documentary by Cayce Mell and 2nd State Productions chronicles KOLP's two-year fight against attempts by public- and private-sector leaders to silence them for opposing Gannon's library lease.

McCartney met Mell a year ago, when they became neighbors in North East after Mell moved there from Pittsburgh. Mell said a fluke encounter with a library book inspired her to research, write, and produce her first film, Tracing Outlines. The name comes from the avant-garde art gallery her late grandmother owned and operated in Pittsburgh for five years, starting in 1941.

At an antique sale in 2009, Mell had helped to collect some yellowed papers that flew out of a library book. She was astounded to see her grandmother's name, Elizabeth Rockwell, listed on a typed sheet along with famed modern artists such as Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. Mell spent six years researching her grandmother's story before her film premiered in 2015.

As a young woman, her grandmother faced long odds in running a gallery featuring modern art. But Elizabeth Rockwell carried on. That's also what members of KOLP do in their advocacy, by celebrating the connections between public libraries and democracy, by attending Erie County Council meetings, by organizing protests, and by posting on social media.

"This is the way change happens," Morse-Dolan explains in the Mell film, when a TV reporter interviews her outside the Erie County Courthouse before a county council meeting. "This is the way that mistakes are corrected, (with) people standing up and using their voices."

Vanessa Mazza, left, and Nicole Pyle show the signs they made at the "Arts and Crafts Against Fascism" meet-up at Grounded Print Shop in Erie. Contributed photo.

In addition to her local activism, Morse-Dolan is a member of the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites and an advisory board member for the Justice Bell Foundation. She knows that the battle for democracy has a long, fraught history in our country.

"The movement for women's suffrage was a decades-long struggle in the United States and was a turning point in our country's history. The 19th Amendment franchised 26 million women, although not equally. At the same time, actions were taken to exclude men and women due to widespread racism and other factors," she said in an interview.

"The 19th Amendment was a crucial step for democracy, but [only] a single step in the citizen pursuit of a more representative, just democracy. The quest continues and calls upon every American to be politically engaged, educated on issues, and to vote in each and every election," she said. The Save Blasco! documentary is a reminder that speaking out takes courage. For example, it's still stunning to watch Erie County Sheriff's deputies escort members of the public out of a special county council meeting on Dec. 18, 2023, on the order of then-chairman Brian Shank.

Shank had ordered that people at the meeting could pick only a single person to speak about library issues. Those who defied his ruling were made to leave. (Shank had already lost his bid for re-election to represent the fifth district to Chris Drexel in the Nov. 7, 2023 election).

Save Blasco! received an honorable mention award in the recent Defense of Democracy Film Festival and has also been selected for screening at the Lake Effect Film Festival Sept. 11-12. Most films will be shown at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center but Save Blasco! can be seen on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 11 a.m. at Five Iron Golf, 1000 State St. For more information and for tickets, visit rhoxonproductions.com/lakeeffectfilmfestival

The decision to defend democracy and reform government can be sparked in different ways, but library-book issues might be a common factor.

For Carol Kuniholm, her research into how gerrymandering hurts the common good began when she worked as a youth pastor in Paoli, outside Philadelphia. Her church wanted to donate books to public school libraries in Philadelphia, only to learn that most of those schools couldn't even afford school libraries.

That led her to question inequities in funding for public education in Pennsylvania and, ultimately, to hone in on the need to end gerrymandering because, as Pennsylvania politics currently work, "Our legislators don't listen to us at all," she said.

Fair Districts supports the creation of an independent redistricting commission to reform Pennsylvania politics. You can learn more about how to support redistricting reform at FairDistrictsPA.com or by e-mailing info@fairdistrictspa.com. As the website states, "Democracy means voters choose their politicians. Current Pennsylvania law lets politicians choose their voters."

Michael Bucell, northwest coordinator for Fair Districts PA, is encouraged that people who heard Kuniholm speak at the Jefferson in Erie and Corry have stepped up to volunteer to send postcards to legislators and advocate in other ways for redistricting reform.

If you need more incentive to get involved in defending democracy, KOLP urges people to attend the Lake Effect Film Festival to watch Save Blasco! You can also watch the film, narrated by retired Mercyhurst professor Chris Magoc, on YouTube.

For a quick dose of hopeful inspiration, scroll toward the end of the 40-minute film and listen to the theme song, "Where Do We Go," written and sung by John McCartney, who performs under the name John Bueno.

The son of Anna and Hugh McCartney, he wrote the song two years ago but it perfectly fits this moment. The song also reflects the courage of people like Paulette Hessinger, who decided to jump in and organize Erie Indivisible after determining that "I really want to be visible," she said.

In his catchy tune, Bueno sings: "Home is on the Great Lakes … where I make my stand."

The song is an easy listen with a hard challenge: Where will you make your stand?

Liz Allen wrote "Protect Free Speech and Freedom of the Press" on her sign and illustrated it with a reporter's notebook. She can be reached at lizerie@aol.com.