President Donald Trump’s policies have sparked protests in over 1,600 cities, where activists will take to the streets Thursday for a national day of action called “Good Trouble Lives On.” The coordinated demonstrations aim to resist mass deportations, Medicaid cuts, and what critics describe as escalating threats to civil liberties under his administration.
The events are being held in honor of the late Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights icon who championed nonviolent protest throughout his life. From courthouse steps to busy intersections, demonstrators will gather in what organizers stress will be peaceful actions.
Chicago will serve as the focal point of the nationwide movement, with a downtown rally and candlelight vigil. Betty Magness of the League of Women Voters Chicago, one of the event’s lead organizers, described the rally as a mix of reflection and resistance. “We have a DJ who’s gonna rock us with boots on the ground,” she said in an AP report, signaling the celebratory but determined tone of the day.
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“This is one of the most terrifying moments in our nation’s history,” warned Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the nonprofit Public Citizen, during a virtual press briefing on Tuesday. “We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and lawlessness within our administration … as the rights, freedoms and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged.”
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Public Citizen, an organization that targets corporate influence in government, is part of a broad coalition spearheading the Thursday protests. Major demonstrations are planned in cities including Atlanta, St. Louis, Oakland, and Annapolis.
John Lewis, who passed away in 2020 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, was the youngest member of the “Big Six” civil rights leaders. He was just 25 years old when he helped lead the infamous Bloody Sunday march in 1965 across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, where he suffered a fractured skull at the hands of police. The violence galvanized national support and prompted President Lyndon Johnson to push for the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America,” Lewis said in 2020, commemorating that historic Selma-to-Montgomery march.
Trump’s second term has faced mounting criticism over aggressive immigration enforcement and heavy-handed tactics. Just weeks ago, protests took place in Los Angeles after federal raids on two marijuana farms in Southern California turned deadly, a farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof during a chaotic operation.
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Those raids came on the heels of Trump’s unprecedented use of the National Guard to fortify federal buildings and support ICE operations in the city. The unrest culminated in mass demonstrations, beginning June 8 and peaking on June 14 with the “No Kings” rallies, where millions turned out from coast to coast. Critics accused President Donald Trump of embracing authoritarianism by staging a birthday military parade, branding him a would-be monarch.
