Hundreds rallied and marched against the Trump administration in Old Town on Thursday night (July 17).
The event at Judy Guse-Noritake Park (600 N. Henry Street) joined hundreds of Good Trouble Lives On rallies across the country, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the death of Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), with participants holding signs and speaking against the Trump administration. The civil rights icon was renowned for his legacy of nonviolent action in defense of democracy.
“We need to mobilize, we need to vote,” Darrylynn Franklin, president of the Alexandria branch of the NAACP, said at the rally. “We need to let our friends and neighbors know that we will not have a king in America.”
Franklin continued, “We need to mobilize together to elect people in the governor’s office and the Senate and the House of Representatives in the coming years. We all need to vote. We need to put people in office who will be able to impeach this administration.”
City Council Member John Taylor Chapman encouraged attendees to stay energized.
“It’s not hard to get bogged down,” Chapman said. “It’s not hard to get tired of hearing negative things, but we have to continue our energy, keep ourselves motivated, whether it’s self-motivation or motivating your neighbor who you know is also called to act. It’s also motivating people around you who are here today because we have to outlast the work that they do.”
After brief remarks, the attendees took a one-mile loop around Old Town on sidewalks (see video below).
The Transformative Justice Coalition, Black Voters Matter, Indivisible, Declaration for American Democracy, and Public Citizen sponsored the John Lewis Day protests.
Thousands attended an anti-Trump rally in Old Town last month. Speakers at the No Kings Rally included U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th), Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D-4), and Mayor Alyia Gaskins.
