This Spring, an unconventional Friend in Washington joins FCNL at 245 C St. Joey Hartmann-Dow is a Young Adult Friend from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, currently collaborating with FCNL to create a series of comic books about lobbying.
During her time in DC, Joey has created the first issue of the series, focusing on climate justice. The project’s goal is to show the humanity of all the parts involved, to expose how we are all connected when it comes to social justice, and to empower anyone, no matter what your background, to engage with your representatives to effect change through policy.
The Seeks Series title is inspired by the four “We Seeks” of FCNL’s mission:
We seek a world free of war and the threat of war. We seek a society with equity and justice for all. We seek a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled. We seek an earth restored.
Issue 1: Climate Justice
When our protagonist J finds out their best friend’s brother Asa is hospitalized for an asthma attack, they want to do everything they can to help— as an activist for climate justice, they see a link between Asa’s dangerous condition, extreme air pollution, and the changing climate in their city of Philadelphia, PA. Although they’ve never reached out to their member of Congress before, J finds themself on a lobby visit with their representative, advocating for climate action as a public health issue, on behalf of their friend’s family and others like them.
About the Artist
Joey Hartmann-Dow is a member of Lehigh Valley Friends Meeting and first got involved with FCNL at Spring Lobby Weekend in 2014. She is thrilled to be living in DC this spring to work on the Seeks Series with FCNL, and is otherwise nomadic, with bases in Philadelphia, PA, New Orleans, LA, and Rochester, NY, when she’s not traveling.
Joey studied Studio Art and Environmental Justice at the University of Rochester, and has since established her business Us & We Art.
The first Seeks Series Issue “Climate Disruption” is available online. The second issue coming this summer will focus on Mass Incarceration and Sentencing Reform.
