By Hamil Harris | Trice Edney Wire
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – When U. S. Rep. John Lewis died on July 17, 2020, instead of somber memorial services, his family and civil rights leaders and activists held rallies and marches and got into what he had described as “good trouble,” meaning pushing for truth and justice even when it means taking a risk.
Five years later, in his memory and honor, “Good Trouble Lives On,” a string of protest events took place in more than 1,700 communities across the country July 17. A growing coalition of leaders says their ranks are growing to challenge President Trump’s agenda and hopefully restore crucial public policies that he and his administration have destroyed.
“We had more than 1700 events across the country Thursday night, and it was beautiful,” said Barbara Arnwine, president/CEO of the Transformative Justice Coalition, and a co-leader of Good Trouble Lives On.
The flagship event for Good Trouble Lives On was held in Chicago with other rallies in major cities like Atlanta, St. Louis and Washington, DC, but also in many smaller venues like Annapolis, Md.; Portland, Ore.; and San Diego, Calif.
“People said that it couldn’t be done because they are too angry and were skeptical,” Arnwine said. “But we started to organize and people, black and white, took to the streets.”
“This is what Democracy looks like,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, during the Chicago rally. “Congressman John Lewis, a man who put his body on the line for Justice. There are times when we must defy the status quo and push back against unjust laws and that time is now.”
One of the common themes about the Good Trouble Lives On events is that they are positive, diverse, and upbeat. In Washington, DC Rep. Al Green said in a TV interview that the march that Rep. Lewis led across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 was the “crown jewel of the City Rights Movement.”
In New York City, protesters marched and chanted, “We want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets!”
In Deland, Fla., protesters yelled “This is what Democracy looks like!” and in St. Louis, Denise Lieberman, director of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, said, “We are standing up for the freedom of all people.”
While many events are held in Washington DC, Arnwine said she planned for a “flagship,” event to be held in Chicago because she had strong support from city officials as well as labor and Civil Rights leaders.
The Mayor of Chicago spoke and even the Rev. Jackson came in his wheelchair alongside labor and civil rights leaders,” said Arnwine, noting that there were major turnouts in other cities.
“Chicago as chosen as the national flagship because of its bold and defiant Mayor Brandon Johnson, because it is the headquarters of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and it’s a union town,” Arnwine said. “It also has great voting rights organizations and a wonderful chapter of Indivisible,” a progressive movement and organization that has vowed to fight against infringements upon civil rights gains.
Arnwine says she is expecting the events to continue and grow, including additional rallies later this summer. In August a rally for voting rights, a labor rally in September as well as a rally in support of the Constitution.
“Transformative Justice Coalition is pleased that more than 1,700 activations took place on July 17th through rallies, teach-ins and marches now planned across America’s communities and neighborhoods in the spirit of getting in ‘good trouble’. This has been created in honor of the late Congressman John Lewis, who coined the phrase ‘Good Trouble.’” Arnwine said. “John Lewis once famously quipped, ‘If not now, when. If not us, then who?’”
We are determined to reach and activate every American impacted by the poorly thought-out, poorly calculated, and callous budget bill passed on our country’s 249th birthday.
While the majority of people impacted by these cuts are White, it will also have a significant impact on Black, Brown, and other communities of color.
“The nature of the struggle has changed. It’s a different era that requires a different response ,” Arnwine said. “The beautiful thing is that we are under attack but we have each other’s backs and there is more good trouble to come.”