CHICAGO—Hundreds of people protested in downtown Chicago Thursday as part of nationwide “Good Trouble Lives On” rallies condemning the Trump administration’s policies, from attacks on voting rights to Social Security cuts to federal immigration raids.
More than 1,000 rallies were held across the U.S. in commemoration of civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis, five years to the day after his death. Known for his strong commitment to nonviolent direct action, Lewis participated in the Nashville sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, helped organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, led the first march from Selma to Montgomery to protest for African-Americans’ right to vote, and much more.
Among the demands of protesters were calls for Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which seeks to restore and strengthen parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, especially the requirement that jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations seek federal approval before enacting certain changes to voting laws. The proposed law was drafted in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which declared a portion of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional.
One organizer at the event who voiced support for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act was Betty Magnus, who is the Illinois political director of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, as well as the executive vice president of the League of Women Voters of Chicago.
“I was around when he went across the bridge and got beaten,” Magnus told People’s World. “I remember how serious that was and the fact that he kept fighting is a reason for me to keep fighting for as long as I can. At the same time, I want to encourage young people to do what I do and learn what I know so they can carry on this fight.”
Protesters carried a wide variety of signs, with many featuring quotes from John Lewis, including his statement that: “Democracy is not a state. It is an act.”
Among attendees were the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
In his remarks, Johnson denounced the Trump administration and called on people to “throw down authoritarianism and build a democracy that works for everybody.”
“In the midst of the greatest transfer of wealth from [the] working class to billionaires in our lifetimes, we are not going to settle, sit down, cower, buck, or cry,” Johnson said. “We are going to march, we are going to push for policies, and we are going to ensure that the oligarchy and the wealthy in this country pay their fair share in taxes.”
Johnson described the United States as experiencing an “alarming” descent into authoritarianism. He added that getting into “good trouble” means standing up to President Donald Trump’s “militarized ICE force” and “ensuring that the immigrant community is protected.”
Johnson was called to testify before Congress back in March and defended Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city. Amid reports Chicago Police allegedly provided immigrants’ arrest records to federal agencies and calls for a probe into whether police assisted ICE agents during a June 4 raid, Johnson said he wanted to make it “absolutely clear, in the most emphatic way, we will not cooperate with ICE.” The pledge drew loud applause from the crowd.
“We will not be intimidated by the militarized force that Donald Trump has put before us,” Johnson said. “Just like Dr. King said, whether it’s racism, whether it’s militarism, or whether it’s capitalism, we will stand up for justice in Chicago and lead the way for the rest of this country.”
Highlighting her experiences as a history teacher, the CTU’s Davis Gates noted that Lewis’ first draft of his speech for the March on Washington “said that we have to burn down the policies and the ideology of Jim Crow, the gifts of the Confederacy.”
“If we not just know our history, but apply our history, we don’t make the mistake of electing the Confederacy,” Davis Gates told those assembled.
“When you know your history, you know that fascism doesn’t stop in the courthouse, but on the streets of every city, every county, and every state in this country,” she said.
“So, organize, mobilize, create the opportunity to win a democracy, not the one we had, but the one that gives us healthcare, all of us; the one that funds public education fully; the one that houses every last front of us,” Davis Gates said. “Our country, our vision, our dream, our; not his, not theirs, not the wealthy. We get an opportunity to live in a country that forces the wealthy to pay their fair share, and that houses each and every one of us.”
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