‘Good Trouble’ rally staged in Washington as part of nationwide protest
Protestors gathered outside the Washington County Courthouse Thursday afternoon as part of another national demonstration critical of President Donald Trump and his administration’s actions.
An estimated 170 people attended the local nationwide day of action, called “Good Trouble Lives On,” held to honor the life of late civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis.
July 17 marks the fifth anniversary of Lewis’ death. The “Good Trouble Lives On” event aims to push back against the Trump administration’s rollback of civil rights while acknowledging the Georgia lawmaker’s legacy of nonviolence.
The volunteer-led 5051 movement, which stands for 50 protests in 50 states on one day, has organized several national peaceful protests since February, including the April 5 “Hands off!” demonstration and the June 14 “No Kings” protest.
Thursday’s local event was coordinated by the League of Women Voters of Washington County, the Washington County Democratic Committee and the Washington and Greene County Labor Council.
The participants held up signs and waved as several cars honked their horns and gave thumbs-up signs during the hour-and-a-half rally.
Darlene Swager traveled from Beaver County to participate.
“I’m here for my grandchildren and children. For us (older folks), we won’t be around a whole heck of a lot longer, but they’re going to be here for a long time, and this is the country we’re going to leave them?” said Swager.
Lewis, who was first elected to Congress in 1986, died in 2020 at the age of 80. He was the last survivor of the “Big Six” civil rights activists, a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In 2020, while commemorating the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, he said, “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.”
“Who’s ready to get in some good trouble?” asked Alex Criego, vice president of the Allegheny Fayette Central Labor Council, as he decried Trump’ s controversial policies that include cuts to Medicaid and other safety nets for poor people, mass deportations, and threats to voting rights.