Book Talk | Crazy Epic Courage: How a ‘Nobody’ Challenged Brutal Dictators and Moved a Nation
When Pastor Evan Mawarire draped the Zimbabwean flag around his shoulders and recorded a heartfelt plea for justice and change, he sparked the #ThisFlag movement, uniting hundreds of thousands against Robert Mugabe’s brutal dictatorship. For his work, Mawarire was imprisoned, tortured, and charged with treason, facing eighty years in prison. As global democracy faces mounting threats, Mawarire’s story serves as both a timely case study and a reverent reminder of the importance of civic engagement.
Join Perry World House as Evan Mawarire discusses his new memoir, Crazy Epic Courage, and explores the intersections of activism, faith, and courage in the fight for human rights and democratic accountability. Mawarire’s story offers a rare and urgent firsthand perspective on the power of ordinary citizens to fight for dignity and freedom.
The first 50 students to attend will receive a signed copy of Crazy Epic Courage.
Speaker:
Evan Mawarire is a pastor and advocate for freedom and justice. He held fellowships at National Endowment for Democracy, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, and Johns Hopkins, on democracy and non-violent movements. He speaks to audiences around the world on finding courage and starting change. Evan now lives exiled in the United States.
Moderator:
Peter Decherney is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, fine art photographer, and author. He holds the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Chair in the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is Professor of Cinema & Media Studies and Director of the Penn Global Documentary Institute. Peter has been an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scholar, a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies, and a U.S. State Department Arts Envoy to Myanmar. He also holds a secondary appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication and an affiliation with the Penn Law Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition.