WASHINGTON—This Friday through Sunday, July 17-19, thousands of people across the country are expected to take part in “Good Trouble Lives On,” the sixth annual national weekend of nonviolent, nonpartisan action carried out in remembrance of Congressman John Lewis.
This year’s mobilization is being organized under the banner “Teach! Reach! Preach!” and forms a central piece of the broader Freedom Summer 2026 campaign to expand voter registration and beat back a wave of new restrictions on the right to vote. Over 600 separate events have been announced so far, with more being added to the list each day.
The weekend comes as Congress has repeatedly attempted to push through legislation that would block millions of Americans from voting, while state legislatures around the country advance similar measures. Many voters will face new documentation requirements, changes to vote-by-mail rules, and other barriers when they go to cast ballots in November.
“We’re witnessing a Jim-Crow era effort from states across the country working to restrict our freedoms and silence Black and brown communities,” said Christine Wood, co-director of the Declaration for American Democracy Coalition, an initiative of Public Citizen.
“In the face of this rampant voter suppression, we must teach our community members on the ways they can make their voice heard, reach out to our neighbors to bring them into this movement, and preach to our loved ones about the moral necessity to carry the torch of the civil rights movement.”
Good Trouble Lives On is explicitly rooted in Lewis’s legacy as a civil rights leader and longtime defender of voting rights. “The fight started by John Lewis over 60 years ago on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., still lives on like never before,” said April Albright, national legal director of Black Voters Matter.
Barbara Arnwine and Daryl Jones, co-leaders of the Transformative Justice Coalition, framed the weekend as both a commemoration and a call to arms: “While the John Lewis Good Trouble Lives On Weekend of Action is an appropriate time to reflect on the rights that our ancestors fought for and won, it is also a time to reflect on the fact that those hard-gained voting rights were taken away by the U.S. Supreme Court and several state legislatures.”
The weekend is a coalition effort, bringing together grassroots organizations, legal advocates, faith leaders, and community members. In addition to the groups already named, also participating are Asian Americans Advancing Justice, American Constitution Society, Black Voters Matter, Common Cause, SEIU, CWA, Urban League, Planned Parenthood, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, American Association of People with Disabilities, May Day Strong, League of Women Voters, U.S. Student Association, 50501, Our Revolution, and dozens more.
Organizers this year also announced a new partnership with Rock the Vote, which is powering a voter tool at goodtroubleliveson.org that lets people register to vote, check their registration status, request an absentee ballot, and pledge to vote.
“John Lewis taught us that democracy isn’t something we inherit, it’s something we have to protect and strengthen through action,” said Kenneth Sandoval-Bushur, senior advisor at Rock the Vote.
The goal, organizers say, is a unified push to register voters from historically underrepresented communities—including young people, Black and brown voters, people with disabilities, people with low or no incomes, and people experiencing homelessness.
Minister Christian Watkins, senior government relations advocate for the Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, tied the effort to faith communities’ obligations: “Congregations and communities of good conscience must continue the legacy of participating in this ‘Good Trouble,’ not as partisan performance, but as covenant responsibility.”
The weekend unfolds in three phases.
Teach (Friday, July 17) features teach-ins, nonpartisan voter education, and radio broadcasts. The focus is on civic engagement, voting, and civil rights.
Reach (Saturday, July 18) centers on community events and “votercades” to connect people with voting resources and opportunities to get involved.
Preach (Sunday, July 19) closes the weekend with faith services and further civic education.
Organizers stress that all events are grounded in nonviolent action: Participants are asked to de-escalate confrontation, act lawfully, and leave weapons of any kind at home. The action does not endorse any candidate or ballot measure.
A full map of local events and additional details are available at goodtroubleliveson.org.
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