My Character Pledge & Declaration

A one-page pledge for creators. It is a declaration of who you are, what you make, and how you're known — kept in your own hands and shared the way you choose.

My Character is all of me: the sum of all my parts, standing on a foundation. It is not only something I have. It is something I give.

What is mine

My name, my face, my voice, and the way I am known. Tennessee already says so. My taste, my opinions, the way I see things and the way I do things. These are mine too. Nobody has to give them to me. I already hold them.

What I give

I can share any of it when I choose to, with whom I choose, for what I choose, and I can change my mind. Signing this page gives nothing away. Each yes is its own. I can take it back.

What I ask of anyone who learns from me

Tell me. Do not pass anything about me or anything of mine along without telling me. I believe every person has the last word on what is shared about them. That holds for anything about me — my preferences, my habits — and anything I create: a song, a film, a script, a performance, an image, a design, my voice, my likeness, my name.

What I keep

The last word on my work, my story, and my name stays with me, whether I use these tools every day or never touch them. No abuse. No neglect. No oppression.

Character

I sign this for the people whose voices I would fight for, and then for myself. One name changes nothing. Enough names and we change the rules.

Sign it

Your name, in your own hand.

Signing gives nothing away. Each yes is its own, and you can take it back. Your email is never shown, sold, or shared — it is only how you would be reached to remove your name.

Signed.

To have your name removed at any time, email character@markhaffnermusic.com.