Joanna (Joan) Freeman, aka Malice Blackhart, a local musician and student from Austin, Texas, is walking from Austin to Washington, DC in protest of the recent Citizen's United ruling by the Supreme Court.
She speaks for many of us. She deserves our respect. She needs your support. She needs your help.
Her journey starts below the fold.
I received an email this morning from the MoveOn Council of Austin, outlining this courageous woman's walk to protest the corporate take over of our electoral process. When it means this much to you, you do what you can. What Ms. Freeman could do was walk.
From her pre-trip video on Facebook:
I'm going to begin walking from Austin, TX to Washington, DC, which is a big, big feat. It's approximately 1900 miles and, currently, I am going alone. I'm 24 years old, and alot of you have asked me what my real name is. My name is Joanna Freeman and I am doing this because our country is in a really bad current state of affairs. The reason I'm actually doing this is because about a week and a half ago, the Supreme Court made a decision in the case of Citizen's United versus federal electoral commission that states that... um... I apologize for being so nervous... that states that essentially corporations can spend any amount of money they want towards political campaigns. And, yes, there are , you know, certain rules and regulations, I mean there's a few, but for the most part it isn't going to be that... it's going to get bad, unfortunately. I mean, I don't like being one of those people that is constantly waiting for the end of the world but, this isn't looking terribly good. And so, in protest, I am walking from here to DC. Starting tomorrow at two o'clock, shortly after the rally I'll be hosting at noon at the Capitol.
According to Bill Hamm of the Austin Council, she left Austin last Friday and has gotten as far as Elgin. She has had several setbacks which have delayed her travel, including weather, losing her pack and, after being granted permission to camp on a family's property, having the police called to remove her.
She has perservered and left Elgin yesterday, her next planned stop is College Station, TX. Her route can be found here.
Ms. Freeman is currently unemployed and has left school for the semester to make this walk. If you've been watching the weather, you know that the I-20 corridor from Texas to New Orleans is currently under a winter weather watch and we've had at least four inches in the DFW area. Why is she walking in the middle of winter? She says in her video:
I am scared. I mean, I don't know who wouldn't be. It's a long way and alot of people have asked me why exactly I've decided to do this in the middle of winter. And the reason I decided to do this right now, is, because, because I'm really sad about the state that our country is in right now. You know, this, this court decision, this monumental thing, happened not necessarily overnight but was very, very overlooked, let's say. You know, the media, until it actually happened, really didn't talk about it much. And, and it's scary. The president has been up in arms about it. You know, Democrats and liberals around the country have been up about it. I would actually believe that Republicans should be up in arms about it because even the majority of the Republicans that I know generally don't own their own corporations. Not to say I don't know a few that do but, the point remains that it's a very big deal because putting this sort of law on the books simply makes it that, that our country can almost be bought and sold. And that's a hard way to look at it, it's a real devastating way to look at it and I don't like looking at it like that. But it's scary and unfortunately it could very well turn into the truth very quickly. And so that's why I'm marching. ...And I can't simply sit by and watch this happen any more. I do love my country, I do love America, but this sort of thing is absolutely out of control and unless people, normal people like you, me begin stepping up and speaking out, taking action, um, we're not going to be able to help our country, it's not going to belong to the people for very much longer.
How can you help Ms. Freeman? She has already procured the boots and sleeping bag she spoke about in her video. The email I received suggested checking her route, her Twitter account and her Facebook page to see if you might be close to where she is walking, support her by showing up to cheer her on, give her a sandwich or a cup of coffee. If you happen to be on the road she's traveling, she's easy to spot. She's short, wears a yellow cold weather rain jacket and is carrying a large American flag.
Her Facebook page has set up a Paypal account to donate monetary support for her journey.
Minor Update: Corrected school name and added info from Austin MoveOn Council Coordinator Bill Ham