FUNKY BROWN CHICK, Inc. will be closed on April 25, 2025, in observance of Liberty Day (Dia da Liberdade).

We celebrate both US and Portuguese holidays as part of our global perspective. It also gives our team a chance to embrace rest as a revolutionary act. But this isn’t just any day off. It’s a powerful reminder that bloodless revolutions aren’t just possible. They’ve succeeded.

When Flowers Defeated Fascism

In April of 1974, Portuguese citizens openly defied nearly six decades of brutal dictatorship, the longest authoritarian regime in Europe. Streets filled not with violence but with bold revolutionaries placing bright carnations into the barrels of soldiers’ guns. Military tanks rolled through Lisbon’s streets covered not in blood but in flowers.

The revolution started with something simple yet profound—music. When “Grândola, Vila Morena,” a banned folk song, played on Portuguese radio just after midnight on April 25, 1974, it wasn’t just a melody. It was the secret signal launching a military coup that would transform Portugal forever.

No shots fired. No lives lost. Just carnations, courage, and the collective power of people who refused to accept oppression as their permanent reality.

The Power of Peaceful Resistance

The Carnation Revolution demolished an 800-year legacy of authoritarianism dating back to 1143. Let that sink in! Eight centuries of oppressive leadership, dismantled without a single bullet fired.

This matters because it proves what’s possible. When facing seemingly immovable power structures, we often hear that change requires violence, that freedom demands bloodshed, that progress requires sacrifice. Portugal’s story shatters these myths.

The revolutionaries didn’t achieve freedom through compromise. They didn’t water down their demands. They strategically combined military action with civilian support. They created a unified front that made resistance seem not just possible but inevitable.

Liberation Work Requires Rest

At FUNKY BROWN CHICK, we understand that creating “a more just, loving, and healthy world free of oppression” demands sustained effort. Our data analytics uncover patterns of inequality. Our digital strategies amplify marginalized voices. Our storytelling shifts narratives that perpetuate injustice.

This work requires clarity. Focus. Vision. Things we can’t access without rest.

So we close our doors on April 25th not just because it’s a Portuguese holiday, but because we recognize that liberation work demands rhythm—periods of intense action balanced with deliberate pause. The revolution doesn’t just need your labor. It needs your insight, your creativity, your strategic thinking. None of these flourish without rest.

Bringing Liberty Day into Your Work

How might the spirit of the Carnation Revolution transform your approach to justice work?

First, believe in the possibility of bloodless revolution. When systems seem immovable, remember Portugal’s story. Change doesn’t always demand violence. Sometimes it requires strategic coordination, unified vision, and the courage to place flowers in gun barrels.

Second, recognize the power of cultural symbols. The revolutionaries did more than seize power. They transformed the meaning of carnations forever! What symbols might unify your communities and amplify your message?

Third, embrace the strategic pause. Revolutionary movements succeed not just through constant action but through strategic reflection. What insights might emerge if you created space for deliberate rest?

Join Us in Revolutionary Rest

When we return to our desks on April 26th, we’ll bring renewed clarity to our data analytics, digital strategies, and narrative change work. We’ll approach our voter engagement, fundraising, and custom solutions with fresh perspectives.

Because we know that rest is a necessity.

Drop us a line at smile@funkybrownchick.com or give us a call at +1 (202) 643-3492 once we’re back. You can also contact us here! Until then, we invite you to consider how you might incorporate both strategic action and revolutionary rest into your own liberation work.

The Carnation Revolution reminds us that a more just world is being built every day, through both bold action and deliberate pause. Sometimes with data and digital strategies. Sometimes with music and flowers.