[EXCLUSIVE] "Multi-Community Charter of Rights and Freedoms"

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Update: 2022/06/26. Living With The Walking Dead exhibit in Museum of the Moving Image displayed the original document used on the show.

Updated 2020/07/26, with the help of the following, in the comments: JC Walking dead & xjumper65
Updated 2019/09/08, with the help of this TWD Season 10 promo
Originally Published: 2019/03/01

Some of you may have run across some bits and pieces from Michonne's Multi-Community Charter of Rights and Freedoms by ambitious bloggers who just wanted to be "first" out the gate. Admittedly, some of them have way more access to folks on the show, like show-runner Angela Kang, who explain the origins of some the wording we managed to glean from these blogs and interviews.
However, I spent an hour or so poring over still-frames, trying to garner as much as the human eye can muster from this elegantly crafted legal document. This content is not available anywhere else on the internet as far as I can tell! We also read through this, live, on last Wednesday night's podcast of [Episode 44], featuring SQUAWKING Carol; Chris, host of Beazt Mode NY DeadCast; and Talking Dead Ultimate Fan of 2018, Ashley Weidman.

So without further ado...

Taken at the Living With The Walking Dead exhibit at Museum of the Moving Image

Preamble

Any person who would live in peace and fairness, who would find common ground, this world is yours by right. We stand together for life, not death, in this new world. Together, we make this world bigger. The future is ours as we hold onto our faith in one another with everything we have. In order to consecrate our bond, we establish this Multi-Community Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Article 1

We survived the end of the world. We are bonded together by the fellowship of the living. Because we know what happens to the dead, we believe we have the right to live as long as we can. We believe in the same for our loved ones, and any person who cares to join us.

We share the bond of  common mortality with all who would join us in peace and fairness.

Article 2

The days of fury are over. We believe every living person deserves to be treated fairly, as a person. This means no torture. No mistreatment. Solitary Confinement is prescribed as the ultimate sanction.

Article 3

The world is new again. The old ways are gone. We live with and love people who are different. We believe different things and have different backgrounds, and we celebrate that. We agree no one can be forced to change to make their neighbors comfortable. We are a community of equals.

Everyone has the right to be themselves. We did not make it this far so that any person who stands with us is looked down upon or hated for who they are, what they believe, or who they love. No one can be forced to pay tribute or worship another person, ever.

Article 4

We survived, but this is about more than survival. In the world we are consecrating, everyone has the right to think for themselves. The right to speak and be heard. There will be disagreements, but we will not allow them to become violent. We respect each other, and life, too much for that. We welcome others who join us in this belief.

It is self-evident to us that no one has a monopoly on truth or justice. We have seen what happens to those who think that way. We've seen what they do to others. There is no room for that now now. Any person who joins us must accept our belief in human dignity. We strive for unity, but accept differences.

Everyone has the right to leave and risk life on the road. But our communities reserve the right to decide who our members are. Any person of good conscience that leaves one community may petition to join another. Together, we are building a better world.

Article 5

Everyone gets due process. People are secure in their property and their persons. We own ourselves only. We know that living together means sacrifice, but these sacrifices are made knowingly and willingly and they are shared by all people of good faith. While we celebrate and cherish the rights of the individual, our general welfare comes first. Our survival brought us together to live in peace and harmony.

Screen grab from TWD Season 10 promo, released 2019/09/08

Article 6

Every community can decide how they want to live. We decide how to share, how to serve, how to sacrifice, but every community should be self-sustaining. No community can be forced to pay tribute. We, the living, are in a league of friendship and will strive to solve our problems as friends. Our communities belong equally to their members. Our welfare and safety are our highest priorities.

We know that our differences can be resolved through dialogue and working together and forgiveness. We welcome all who would join us in this belief. If a general council is called, every community will send a representative to meet in a place to be determined. Each representative gets one vote.

Article 7

Beyond humanity and life itself, we share a common bond. We are infected with a virus that robs death of its dignity. We've seen what it does to loved ones, to friends, to family. We do not wish to join the ranks of the walking dead, but we know that one day we will unless corrective action is taken.

Once our lives have run their course, everyone has the inalienable right to be ended before turning. Whenever possible without the risk to life or limb, whoever can will end any newly deceased person who has lived among us to spare them this fate.

Article 8

Bound by a common trust, life, and our humanity, we are making the world new again. We are making the world bigger by collaborating and cooperating. We are helping one another and defending one another so that we can be safe. But this charter is not a suicide pact. No community can be forced to sacrifice supplies or people needed for self-preservation to save another. War will never be declared without joint agreement of all. Each community may opt-out if they are so able.

If war comes, or some other emergency threatens our joint or individual survival as communities, the above rights and freedoms can be suspended by a community's elected or appointed leadership until the danger has passed. This determination rests with the leadership whose sacred trust is the lives and welfare of us all.

Postamble

Created under the unanimous agreement of all the communities in this new world, with hope for our future and confidence that together we are stronger. Together, we survive and together we thrive. We construct this binding peace not just for ourselves but for future generations who have a right to this world. Under one common accord, we sign our names below:

         Alexandria {          Hilltop {          

Kingdom {          Oceanside {          Sanctuary {