What makes you feel like you belong to a place or that you are a citizen? What does being a citizen even mean?

As part of NYCxDESIGN, the Brooklyn Fashion+Design Accelerator invited five panelists to talk to these questions and each share their “citizen journey ” from the perspectives of art, design, activism and fashion. Conversations afterward with people who were too nervous to speak on their own story of citizenship spoke of what it feels like to be a feminist in the world or an environmentalist, what happens when you’re a democrat or a republican, pro-choice or gay? Sometimes the best part of an event is the after-talk in the corners of the room but for the six people who stepped into our storytelling booth, they wanted to let you know exactly what they thought being a citizen was and where they embraced but also felt a disconnect from the idea.

Below watch one of the videos featuring Literary Swag’s Yahdon Israel, from that evening and follow the link over to our Vimeo page to hear the rest of our storytellers.

While the founders of this country created a document that inspired people to envision a new society, for close to a quarter of a millennium, citizens of the United States have been challenged to adapt to a constantly changing world disrupted by war, economic hardship, injustice and discrimination that has resulted in a generation of Americans convinced that their vote doesn’t matter. It is time to rethink the definition of what it means to be a US citizen and renew our spirit of independence and engagement.

Let these videos continue the conversation.

Redesigning Citizenship Story 6 from BF+DA on Vimeo.