Can social media “save” the Tower Theatre?

Over the past year, many of us have relied on the internet to work from home and attend school. For the Save the Tower Theatre movement, it has been used to launch a nationally-recognized grassroots effort.

Local activists have been working to prevent Adventure Church from buying the theater. They believe the Church’s stance against gay marriage is at odds with the community’s values. They also believe the purchase would require a rezoning of the area, placing restrictions on local businesses.

It all started when community members noticed rumors that were shared on Twitter. Jaguar Bennett, a member of the Save the Tower Theatre Committee, said it was social media that caused the movement to form at a rapid pace.

“This all happened so fast it’s all kind of like a blur. Around January 3rd, 4th, we started hearing rumors on Twitter that the Tower Theatre was going to be sold,” said Bennett.

From there, organizers created a Facebook page titled, “Save The Tower Theatre.” It was with that page that the pieces of the movement came together. The page currently has over 2,300 followers.

Among them is Francisco Chapa. He said the Facebook community inspired him to attend his first protest ever. “I wasn’t really one to be a part of causes, or anything like that, but after seeing the Facebook page and seeing all of the support and getting those notifications every single day, it really inspired me to want to make a change,” Chapa said.

The movement came full circle when the conversation returned to Twitter after comedian Sarah Silverman took to the platform to voice her support.

It gained further national attention with an article that was recently published in the LA Times.

Though the purchase of the theater is still pending, the strategy of online organizing has already proven itself to be quite powerful.