Thousands of Americans participated in “Good Trouble Lives On” demonstrations Thursday, a nationwide day of peaceful protest honoring the legacy of civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis on the fifth anniversary of his passing.
One of the protests took place in Liberty City, near Northwest 15th Avenue and 66th Street, where demonstrators gathered to call for government accountability.
Calls for justice and unity
Outside the Roots Bookstore, people held signs reading “Stop the Trump destruction” and “Don’t give up, don’t give in.”
Many said the rally was about continuing Lewis’s legacy of nonviolent resistance and civic engagement.
Protesters speak out on concerns
“I am disheartened with what’s going on in America. This is not the country I grew up in,” said protester Timothy Sylvester.
“We have to push back. We have to resist. We have to resist now,” added Frank Corbishley, an Episcopal priest and protester.
Fighting for those without voice
Many at the rally said they were exercising their rights on behalf of those who are afraid to do so.
“The current role of this country is going backwards, not forward,” said protester Kathy Cole. “We are all American. God said love your neighbor. God didn’t say love your Black neighbor, your Haitian neighbor, your Venezuelan neighbor. God said, love your neighbor. And that’s what we should be doing.”
Organizers urge civic engagement
“We need to be very, very concerned about the authoritarianism, about the anti-education, the anti-immigrant, anti-people, anti-human being,” said protester Kathy Doil.
One organizer said the rally was about what John Lewis stood for: creating change through “good trouble.” In his honor, participants cleaned up and spread fresh mulch around the community before the event.
“So what we really wanted to impart today with the rally is to be a citizen, to be engaged, to create good trouble,” said Kendra Howard, co-founder of the Black Liberation Alliance Movement. “How do you get engaged with your civic leaders? What can you ask for? How do you contact them? How do you hold them true to the values they said they were being elected for?”
