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It’s not quite taking to the streets in protest, but hitting the stage of some club every night to offer a view of Southern culture that defies expectations and, in some cases history, should be understood as an act political in nature.

“I think we’re all pretty cognizant of the fact that it’s activism in one way or another, whether we acknowledge it or not,” comedian Cliff Cash said, discussing the socially engaged nature of not just his act, but of Stewart Huff and Tom Simmons as well. “I’m sure I could write fart jokes — I could pour my heart and soul into it. But all three of us think we have a responsibility to say something bigger, to take a microphone and speak our minds.”

Cash went on to explain the bent of the Sick of Stupid tour he conceived about a year ago. But the North Carolina-based stand-up and the tour he’s helped organize aren’t relegated to the South. Cash said he hits New York for dates as frequently as possible, working to dispel preconceived notions of what a Southerner is and should be.