Ever wondered where the name Backbone Campaign came from? Executive Director, Bill Moyer, shared not only the beginnings of our Backbone Campaign, he also gave insight into his personal background on Extinction Rebellion Radio.
According to Executive Director, Bill Moyer, activism's motivation comes from someone being able to "imagine themselves in a different world." It is an "expression of their deepest values and aspirations for the future.
Why Backbone Campaign?
Bill shared 2 instances of where this name originated. One night after working with kids on Vashon Island, Bill climbed a tree to watch the sunset. After taking time to appreciate the beauty of the world, he started to make his way down the tree. However, his foot slipped off a branch and he fell to the ground. He checked his limbs and realized they were all okay. However, he soon realized that he could not get up. He shattered T12, L1, and L2 in his spine. The "idea of what I wanted, I couldn't manifest it with my body...only when we are unified together do we have the power to manifest visions and our aspirations."
Later as he and his friends engaged in festival shows with puppets, they thought, with all this privilege and creativity if we don't offer it to the world who is going to? They then came up of the idea to deliver the Democrats a 70 ft backbone. After all, what does it mean to have a backbone? Each of the vertebrae was an issue that they cared about, it's all connected and we are all apart of this larger movement.
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