If you were to make a sign that reveals something about yourself you want to hide from the world and hold it in public, what would it say? That’s the question Vulnerable Rally asks of its participants as we cut past the niceties and social graces to which we conform into the very heart of that which makes us human. Our fears, our shames, our frailties, our prejudices—when these shadow parts of ourselves come to light, they not only have the chance to free us, they can also free those who pass us by. And here, connected by our common humanity, we discover we are not alone. Vulnerable Rally is the backdrop of Mikey Pauker’s, RISE, which too is rallying cry for its listeners to rise up both in strength and in vulnerability—a sentiment echoed by the song’s refrain, “Don’t let this world lock you out of your soul.”