Philly teens get hands-on civics experience with a ‘Demon Slayer’ mock trial

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Thirty Philadelphia teens acted as prosecutors and jury members and received hands-on experience in civics during a “Demon Slayer”-themed mock trial held at Parkway Central Library on Wednesday.

A manga-inspired courtroom simulation

In partnership with the Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan organization focused on improving government in the city, the Free Library of Philadelphia held “Tanjiro v. The Demon Slayer Corps: A Mock Trial.” Teens and library staff read through a script, with participants playing assorted courtroom roles, from the bailiff to the defense.

Other students played witnesses, named after characters from the popular manga, including Rengoku, Sanemi and Giyu.

Anne Spector, a civic educator from the Committee of Seventy, led and wrote the courtroom experience for the teens. She explained the importance of giving young Philadelphians a firsthand experience with our legal system.

“To build basic civic knowledge, to promote engagement in their home, their school and their community by realizing their voice matters,” Spector said. “To cultivate the art of deliberation, debate and advocacy.”

The civic educator said that once children realize their voices are important, they are not afraid to offer individual perspectives.

Spector sometimes creates these mock trials on her own, and other times she collaborates with the kids. For this trial, she used one of the most popular manga in the library’s collection, “Demon Slayer,” for inspiration and created “The Hashira v. Tanjiro Kamado.”

Lessons in literacy

Before the trial began, the teens learned essential courtroom vocabulary, such as the difference between direct and leading questions, and offered how they defined “fairness.”

Yona Yurwit is a librarian at Parkway Central Library and served as the judge for the simulation. She said the mock trial aligned with the library’s goal to expand literacy.

“Civic literacy is a form of literacy, so it’s very in line with our mission and values,” Yurwit said. “It’s also in line with just having a healthy society; if you don’t understand how things work, you can’t make informed decisions.”

In addition to civics practice, the teens also worked on their “literal literacy,” presenting the script Spector wrote like a play.

“We’re getting a lot of skills today,” Spector said.

Increasing civic awareness

Yurwit admitted that there are challenges in getting young people to participate in events like mock trials — that it can feel like work. But once you get the kids in the room though, things can change.

“They have things they notice or care about or are concerned about, whether it’s at the local level or beyond that, they all have something to say,” Yurwit said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, to create a space for them to do that and give them tools for understanding the world around them.”

Joshua Ostby works in the after-school program with the Free Library of Philadelphia. This was his first time helping with a mock trial like this, and he said there was a “huge buzz” in the teen center ahead of the event.

Running an activity like this with an anime inspiration made the activity much more approachable, according to Ostby.

“I’m happy to see them exercise that civic duty that eventually they’ll have to be faced with when they’re adults,” Ostby said.

Spector has been creating and running mock trials for Philadelphia students for 20 years. Over the past two decades, she said children have become “much more aware” of the political state of the country.

“I think that democracy has become something that’s very important to them,” Spector said. “At some point, we’re climbing a mountain to let them know that they’re the future, and that their voices need to be heard.”