Make Good Trouble—Join the Chicago Rally
On Thursday, July 17, Chicago will be a focal point of the John Lewis “Good Trouble” Day of Action, a national nonpartisan effort. We will gather at Daley Plaza at 5:30 p.m. to honor the legacy of civil rights hero John Lewis, joining Americans across the country in carrying forward his fight for justice, voting rights, and dignity for all.
John Lewis devoted his life to expanding voting rights and encouraging ordinary people to stand up for what’s right. As a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the original Freedom Riders, and the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, Lewis stood courageously at the front lines of the civil rights movement. Even after suffering a fractured skull on the Edmund Pettus Bridge while marching for voting rights in Selma, he never stopped believing in nonviolence and the power of participation to transform institutions and advance democracy.
John Lewis famously urged us to “make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble” in order to protect our democracy. Five years since his passing, his words remain a rallying cry, and this Thursday communities nationwide will answer that call. From courthouses to community plazas, we will march in peace and act with purpose to remind our leaders that in America, power belongs to the people—and only the people. When we show up, speak out, and stand together, we can change the world. Let’s help carry on John Lewis’s legacy and ensure that the promise of true democracy lives on.
History has proven that change is only possible when people and organizations stand united in the cause of empowering voters and defending democracy. Then as now, the health of our democracy depends on active participation by its citizens. We encourage every Chicagoan to come out and make some “good trouble” of their own.
LWV Chicago members and friends will meet up beforehand at 5:00 pm outside 69 W Washington St—see you there!