Before he became an emboldened activist on the frontlines of Zimbabwe's fight for democracy, pastor Evan Mawarire was nearly apolitical, he says.
"If you'd brought me a newspaper clipping in 2012 of things I did from 2016 on, I never would have believed this could actually be a future I'd be involved in at all," says Mawarire, the first dissident in residence for the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins. "I was very far from engagement in the political space or anything to do with democracy in Zimbabwe. The only thing I'd done with the democratic process was going to vote, nothing beyond that."
We Stood Up: A Conversation with Evan Mawarire
Mawarire, the SNF Agora dissident in residence, will talk about what it takes for an ordinary citizen to confront a brutal dictatorship, specifically his experience standing up to Robert Mugabe's ruthless dictatorship in Zimbabwe. Tuesday, Oct. 11, 5 p.m., the Great Hall on the Homewood campus. Registration required.
Under the oppressive 37-year rule of Robert Mugabe, there seemed to be no other option in Zimbabwe, Mawarire says. "We were taught that you fear the regime. You don't speak up, you don't get involved, because if you did you could get murdered or disappear."
But Mawarire ultimately reached his personal breaking point with injustice in 2016, posting a viral video and helping kick off a citizens movement known as #ThisFlag. As a result, he was forced to endure imprisonment and torture, and charged with treason.
Today Mawarire continues his activism for post-Mugabe Zimbabwe from the U.S., where he's sounding a warning cry to Americans on the fragility of their own democratic pillars. He's also looking at the global perspective, examining how recent events like COVID-19 have empowered authoritarian regimes. As director of education of the Renew Democracy Initiative, he oversees a network of dissident voices, Frontlines of Freedom—activists from Iran, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Venezuela, and other places—who speak to American audiences. Mawarire plans to include some of those voices in SNF Agora events, as well as an Intersession class at Hopkins this winter.
