“At this time when you don’t know what to do and things are happening at breakneck speed, standing up for what you value is really important.” These are the words of my friend, Maeve Reilly. Maeve reached out to me and our friend, Carolyn Seeger, in late February to ask if we would be interested in helping organize a rally in Galesburg — what she called a Pro Democracy rally. We said yes! She found the location, a lot on East Main Street, we set a date and held our first rally in less than a week, March 2. I remember her saying, “Oh we’ll probably only have a few people ... maybe 20?” Even with short notice, dozens of people attended. They came with signs, we chanted, drivers passing by honked their encouragement — and we were loud! The sense of purpose was visceral. Everyone said it felt so good to be doing SOMETHING, to release the frustration, yes, anger, at what we had been seeing since the election. The best part? The joy, the coming-together of likeminded people. Historian Heather Cox Richardson says, ‘Authoritarianism cannot rise if there are strong communities and people acting with joy. Showing up and doing things you love say to an authoritarian, you have no place to root here.’
And they wanted to do it again the next week. And so we did. The crowd grew larger — the signs, so creative, expressed the multitude of grievances toward this administration. We played appropriate music, I brought a megaphone loud enough to lead the chants, drummers appeared. And we have gathered every week since then. Our largest protest numbered around 400 on April 5. We’ve met at the courthouse, hearing speeches on illegal deportations and the protection of immigrants’ rights, about the protection of LGBTQ+ and trans rights, about the need to rise up and resist, and the power of protest throughout our history. State Senator Mike Halpin spoke and marched with us on Main St. We’ve protested with postal workers, on behalf of veterans, against Elon Musk and DOGE, the needless funding cuts to federal agencies and firing of employees, the slashing of funding to NPR and PBS, the tariffs, the withholding of funds to universities and scientific research . We continue to protest what we see as detriments to our country: the rollback of EPA regulations and the dismissal of actions to prevent climate change, the sell out of public lands for deforestation, mining and drilling, the dismantling of the Department of Education. The teachers speak out, labor union representatives speak out. The voices are many because the list of grievances is so long. We watch as the rule of law is undermined, as court orders are ignored, as unqualified leadership in the Cabinet further threatens the well-being of Americans. We want the most vulnerable among us to be protected, for children and seniors to be fed, for everyone to have affordable healthcare.
We want the lies to stop. Our economy is not better. The world is not safer. Americans live in fear of retaliation for expressing their First Amendment rights, people are deported without due process. Our Constitutional protections are being threatened.
We stand with Ukraine, we’re alarmed at this administrations’ admiration of Putin and other dictators while alienating our allies. We see how the administration disparages world leaders with lies and tries to make money off of their problems. We oppose the proposed slashing of Medicaid and other social safety nets so that the wealthiest among us receive tax breaks. We demand protection of Social Security and Medicare and Veterans’ benefits and jobs.
In April we created a Facebook group aligned with the 50501 Movement, 50 Protests — 50 States — One Movement. 50501 is a volunteer grassroots movement that calls for national days of non-violent, peaceful protest. In our group, members are made aware of upcoming events, and we’ve established safety protocol for protestors. Here they can share ideas and suggestions to make our actions effective. Our purpose is to organize, mobilize, and create action. We collaborate with the Knox County Democrats organization and appreciate their support and planning efforts.
As hoped, leaders have risen out of the organization ... members who give of their time and talents ... planners, photographers, event leaders, security monitors, drummers, speakers, and the most creative sign makers ever. The organizers are proud of, and grateful for, all the dedicated folks who continue to show up - in the cold, the snow, in the rain and on the beautiful days, too.
Thousands of Hands Off! rallies were held on April 5, 19, and May 1..
Millions of Americans came together in opposition of this administration’s illegal and immoral actions. Hands Off! is backed by over 150 activist groups. 50501, Indivisible, MoveOn and others are organizing peaceful protests in large cities, state capitols and in small cities and towns across America. We join the national days of protest while we continue to protest weekly in Galesburg. The next National Day of Protest will be June 14 — No Kings Day. We’ve moved to a new location northwest of the Public Square, days and times vary. We also joined Galesburg’s Memorial Day Parade, not as a protest, but in commemoration of those who sacrificed their lives to create, sustain and defend this great experiment called Democracy.
Our motto is "We, the People," because if not us, then who? As Jamie Raskin said, "The Constitution does not begin with 'We the dictators'; the preamble begins with 'We, the People.'" We are committed to the protection of the inherent rights and freedoms of all Americans granted by the Constitution. And when the government isn’t listening to the People, when we see injustice, corruption, the threat to basic human rights, the People will rise.
We urge everyone to join us — to show up, rise up, resist. Our voices can’t be ignored.
Jeanne Clark is a political activist, retired HUD Compliance Officer and fiber artist who believes in speaking truth to power.
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