Activists urge more ‘good trouble’ to fight Trump policies

Above, some of the crowd of more than 300 people who participated in the “Good Trouble Lives On” day of action rally. The event took place on July 17 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the late Georgia congressman John Lewis’ death. Top right, Journalist Roger Witherspoon addresses the crowd. Witherspoon interviewed Lewis for a book he wrote on Martin Luther King in the 1980s. Right, rally participants lined Main Street with signs and flags near Mount Kisco Village Hall. Baila Lemonik from the Putnam Progressives led the “Good Trouble Lives On” protest. MARTIN WILBUR PHOTOS

By MARTIN WILBUR

Protesters returned to Mount Kisco last Thursday in one of about 1,500 nationwide rallies to demonstrate against President Donald Trump and many of his administration’s actions and policies.

More than 300 filled the area outside of Mount Kisco Village Hall on Main Street in the late afternoon for the “Good Trouble Lives On” day of action on the fifth anniversary of the death of the late Georgia congressman and civil rights advocate John Lewis. One of Lewis’ most popular quotes, “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble,” implores people to take action where they see injustice despite the risk of personal consequences.

Many of those in attendance held signs and criticized the administration on an assortment of issues, from the handling of immigration, to Congress slashing Medicaid and food stamps, the threatened dismantling of the federal Department of Education, tariffs and short-circuiting due process. It was held just over a month after the June 14 No Kings rally near the Mount Kisco train station.

“What is going on in the United States right now is not normal, and one of the most dangerous things is the normalization of Trump and laws that are being ignored, due process is being ignored, and we need to fight that and say it’s not right, it’s not OK,” said Helen Burger, one of the several hundred people in attendance.

The local rally was led by Baila Lemonik of Putnam Progressives, who was joined by other activists, some from left-leaning organizations in the lower Hudson Valley. Lemonik said that Lewis “probably is rolling in his grave at this point” over the state of the country during the past six months. She urged those in the crowd to change the narrative, and blasted those who have co-opted the American flag to tell a much darker story. 

“Taking back our flag. Nobody has the right to say this flag is for hate, for violence and for killing people,” said Lemonik, who called Lewis “my hero.”

Lemonik told the crowd that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently contributed to the death of a migrant farm worker in California. Complicit Republicans in some areas around the country are also trying to make it more difficult to vote, she said.

“We will not accept that,” Lemonik added. “John Lewis worked too hard to get people voting rights. They are taking them away.”

One of the speakers at the protest was journalist Roger Witherspoon, who interviewed Lewis for his 1985 book “Martin Luther King, Jr., To the Mountaintop.” Witherspoon, who helped integrate the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan in 1966 by sometimes threatening to use force, said he was impressed to see Lewis’ discipline in the mold of King and the commitment to non-violent disobedience.

“He said there are two ways of fighting — one is with fists and weapons and whoever is stronger wins,” Witherspoon recalled Lewis saying. “It doesn’t necessarily mean the one who is right wins, just the one who is stronger that day wins. I am standing up for my rights; I am standing up for what I believe, and that is the strength that will carry us through the day.”

Another participant, Marilyn Elie, read some of Lewis’ writings, many of them composed late in life as he reflected on his civil rights efforts alongside King in the 1960s and trying to pass that spirit on to future generations.

“I would like to be remembered as a boy from Troy, Ala., who saw something, said something and did something,” one passage read. “I hope that those who learn my story are inspired to take action in their communities, to push, to pull, to fight for the rights of all people. It’s important never to lose hope and to realize that in the end what matters was how you treated people, whether you were kind to them, how you responded to the wrong that you and your brothers and sisters faced. Every generation leaves behind a legacy. I’m one of the last of mine.”

In addition to the criticisms leveled at Trump during the hour-long rally, there were plenty of harsh words for Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents the 17th Congressional District. Lemonik accused Lawler of blindly voting for Trump to the detriment of the public.

But Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wasn’t spared the wrath of some in the crowd either. While the Democrats may not have the votes in Congress to thwart Republicans from passing their agenda, some feel Schumer has failed to make a strong case to win back more voters for the 2026 mid-terms.

Lemonik urged the crowd to voice their opinions to both legislators.

“I’ve been calling Chuck Schumer and asking him what is he doing, where has he been,” Lemonik said. “Is he getting off his keester … to do anything? Is he just allowing our democracy to fade into oblivion? So the more people who call — he’s the Democratic leader — the more he’ll have to listen.”

Jeff Kidde of Mount Kisco said that despite a challenging time, he came out for last week’s rally to voice his strong objection to the path the country is on.

“So, overall, it is an absolute disaster in we all [sic] have to come out here every single time we can and express our dissatisfaction and our anger,” Kidde said.