The right of Americans to peaceably assemble is a well-established doctrine in the United States constitution. Through a course called Project Citizen, I was given the opportunity to study how this right was exercised in different regions. A few students from Kent State University and Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles were tasked with documenting our interactions with newsmakers, voters, political leaders and peers of varying political perspectives. The fact that students from Ohio, a Republican voting state, and California, a Democratic voting state, participated was of no coincidence.

Project Citizen

The instructors who facilitated our activities urged us to encounter our cultural assumptions of a place and its peoples head-on. This was largely a journalistic course that spanned roughly six weeks– three weeks in Los Angeles, CA and the following three spent in Kent, OH. Within that span of time, we certainly looked into a lot more than assembly. The aim of our research for the course and this study on visual identities certainly overlapped in some areas, namely the documentation of protests.

Assembly Required

The goal of our video was to examine how American citizens exercise their right to peaceably assemble according to the first amendment, particularly in a time of great social engagement. We plan to attend four rallies (a pro-Trump rally in California, Pride events in both California and Ohio, and finally a pro-choice event in Ohio). At the events, we will interview either organizers or attendees and supporters of the movements to further understand what drove them specifically to take political action, a step beyond simply holding political opinions.

We hope to address many of the stereotypes of the West Coast and Midwest by attending rallies that may be contrast with the political leanings that are generally associated with the regions. We also hope to provide a sense of similarity or connection in the personal convictions that drives one to assemble for a cause they believe in.