Big rally in Appleton celebrates John Lewis, denounces Trump
'This moment in history is not just about one man or one administration. It’s about resisting every system of power that depends on silence and submission. We are here to build.'
About 350 people turned out in Appleton for the nationwide “Good Trouble Lives On” rally held in honor of the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis.
“My philosophy is very simple,” Representative Lewis once told an audience. “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, say something! Do something! Get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble.”
Houdini Plaza was filled with enthusiastic protesters, many who had participated in previous rallies and some who came for the first time. Passing cars joined the rally with their honks, cheers, and thumbs up. The rally was not only in honor of Lewis but in opposition to the Trump administration over a wide array of issues, including civil rights, the Constitution, immigration justice and many more.
The Appleton Rally was hosted by Forward Fox Valley and the Democratic Party of Outagamie County.
Top center: Emily Tseffos, chair of the Democratic Party of Outagamie County; bottom right: Forward Fox Valley's Sara MacDonald; bottom left: The Raging Grannies.((d
Sara MacDonald, with Forward Fox Valley, is also the local representative for ACLU-Wisconsin. She highlighted the ACLU's ongoing legal efforts for civil rights in her opening remarks.
“The ACLU is in court and winning temporary injunctions to protect our right to tell the truth, to teach history and to be who we are,” she insisted. “This moment in history is not just about one man or one administration. It’s about resisting every system of power that depends on silence and submission. We are here to build. Your voice is exactly what this country needs.”
Emily Tseffos, Chair of the Democratic Party of Outagamie County, reminded the crowd of John Lewis’s legacy, urging that it is up to the people to carry his legacy forward.
“There’s a bridge in Selma, Alabama,” she said. “Just concrete and steel. But in 1965, it became sacred ground. John Lewis – just 25 years old – led hundreds across it. They were met with tear gas, horses, and clubs. And they kept walking. That’s good trouble. Necessary trouble. The kind we’re called to right now.
“So let’s march like Selma,” she continued. “Rise like Stonewall (the 1969 protests that marked the beginning of the modern gay rights movement). Organize like Act 10. Crawl like the ADA heroes. Strike like Amazon workers. Protect like immigrant communities. Dream like the people who know this country has always been remade from the bottom up. Because good trouble isn’t history – it’s a mandate.”
Tseffos concluded with another quote from Lewis.
“‘If not us, then who? If not now, then when?’” she asked. “Good trouble lives on – in us. And here in Outagamie County and across the country. We are just getting started!”
