Wright Tavern revived as forum for ‘messy’ civic engagement

Acton’s civic engagement has risen and ebbed over the centuries. Early on, voting was restricted to a small group of churchgoing, property-owning, white men. We reached comparative highs of civic engagement during the Revolutionary War, during abolitionist agitation, with the inclusion of immigrant West Acton, when women were extended the vote, during the 1950s communist scare, and amid the 1960-’70s fights for civil rights. 

By 2015, Acton citizen engagement had ebbed by so much that fewer than 5% of registered voters were making decisions affecting us all in town elections and meetings. Many Acton citizens felt their voices weren’t welcome or heard when it came to decisions about taxes, housing, zoning, our public schools, and inclusion in the town’s often opaque governance process. 

Acton civic engagement has begun to rise again, with over 30% of Acton’s registered voters expressing their preferences in the two most recent local elections. This is the nature of democracy — messy, with a wide variety of strongly held views expressed, but with civil discourse among neighbors. After five years in the making, the Wright Tavern Center for Civic Engagement has recently emerged as a welcoming center for lectures, debate, remembering our history, and cherishing our democratic heritage, perhaps over a beer and food as taverns used to provide. It is time again for Acton citizen activists to once again help shape the future of our democracy. Meet me at the Tavern. 

Jim Sherblom

Park Lane