Events were planned throughout San Diego County on Thursday for “Good Trouble Lives On,” billed by organizers as a “national day of nonviolent action” on the fifth anniversary of the death of Rep. John Lewis.
The phrase was coined by Lewis, one of the “Big Six” leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, to explain the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.
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“This is more than a protest; it’s a moral reckoning,” organizers said.
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At a march in Carmel Valley Thursday morning, demonstrators gathered at an intersection with signs and chants. Rebecca Decker
from Rancho Peñasquitos felt it was important to show up to support civil rights as well as to protest some of the Trump administration’s policies.
“Hands off Medicare, that’s going to be a big deal for me in about two years. Escape racial injustice; we do have people that are racist,” Decker
said.
Some demonstrators said they were fighting for equality for all, including immigrants.
“Not just black, not just brown, not just color. Everybody has civil rights and that’s what we’re lacking right now,” said Carol Bain, who is 74 years old but told NBC 7 she’s rallying with the spirit of an 18-year-old.
Organizers have asked participants “to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.”
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Many were inspired by the “Good Trouble” the late congressman caused.
“He was unstoppable and not angry,” North Park resident Linda Solway said at a demonstration in Carmel Valley. “He was just very straightforward.”
Lewis, the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was a Democratic House member from Georgia from 1987 until he died in 2020.
Lewis participated in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins, was a Freedom Rider who rode interstate buses to force their integration, and helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington.
In 1965, at the age of 25, Lewis led the first of three Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where he and other protesters were brutally attacked by law enforcement officers in what was later called “Bloody Sunday.” Lewis suffered a skull fracture.
The marches spurred support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“Good trouble means just get out there and make a mess. Protest silently with signs. Be there, show up. That’s what it means,” Bain said of what the phrase means to her.
Lewis described what it meant to him in 2020 while commemorating the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.”
Thousands were expected to show up across the county to a multitude of Good Trouble Lives On events, including:
- El Cajon, 10 a.m., Fletcher Parkway and Magnolia Avenue
- Carmel Valley, 10 a.m., Carmel Country Road and Del Mar Heights Road
- San Marcos, 3 p.m., 717 W. San Marcos Blvd.
- Encinitas, 4:30 p.m., corner of Encinitas Boulevard and El Camino Real
- Downtown San Diego, 5 p.m., Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Highway
- Mira Mesa, 5 p.m., 10788 Westview Parkway
- Vista, 5 p.m., Soroptimist Parkette, North Santa Fe Avenue and Vista Village Drive.
- La Jolla, 5:15 p.m., Girard Avenue and Pearl Street SW
- Carlsbad, 5:30 p.m., Carlsbad Boulevard and Pine Avenue
- University City, 5:30 p.m., location is private and will be provided upon RSVP
- Escondido, 6 p.m., Grape Day Park, 321 N. Broadway
A detailed description of events is
available here
.
The protests are being held nationally at more than 1,6000 locations, according to organizers.
