Thu 7/17 @ 5:30-7:30PM
Are you ready to join another nationwide series of demonstrations, following the Hands Off and No Kings events earlier this year? Good! Don’t quit now — there’s even more horrible stuff to rise up against since then, from an abomination of a bill stripping tens of millions of health care, food and education to pay for tax cuts for the rich to the illegal detainment and imprisonment of thousands of “suspected” undocumented immigrants across the country, many of who’re no such thing.
Just in time to let off some (nonviolent) steam, this Thursday is Good Trouble Day across the country. It’s named in honor of the late Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis, who was nearly beaten to death when police confronted peaceful marchers at the Pettis Bridge in Alabama on “Bloody Sunday” in 1965. (Ironically, the bridge is named after a Ku Klux Klan leader who was also a U.S. Senator in the late 19th/early 20th century.)
Prior to his election to Congress in 1986, Lewis took part in and organized sit-ins and freedom rides, chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating committee, and, at the age of just 23 was one of the main organizers of the legendary 1963 March on Washington. (He was also a cat lover.) He famously said that getting into “good trouble” was essential to make change. The nationwide rallies are scheduled for the day he passed in 2020 at the age of 80.
Join Mobilize the Vote, the Cuyahoga Democratic Women’s Caucus and Showing Up for Racial Justice NEO at Market Square Park across from the West Side Market for a Good Trouble Lives On event to remind people of what is worth fighting for. Pre-event activities kick off at 4:30, with line dancing starting at 4:45. Nothing can stop the line dancing!