Local Indivisible Groups Organize ‘Good Trouble’ Rally, Display

By TERESA WINCHESTER
ONEONTA

On Thursday, July 17, Indivisible groups from CooperstownOneonta, Butternut Valley, Cherry Valley and Schoharie County hosted a gathering dubbed “Good Trouble Rally and Live Art Display” in the City of Oneonta’s Neahwa Park. The rally started at noon and was over by 1:30 p.m.

July 17 marked the fifth anniversary of the death John Lewis, the 1960s civil rights leader and, eventually, Georgia Congressman. In 1965, Lewis was brutally beaten by Alabama State Troopers while attempting to march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama with 600 others. The goal of the march was to proceed from Selma to Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, to advocate for voting rights for Black Americans. The incident, occurring on Sunday, March 7, became known as “Bloody Sunday.” Lewis was known for urging activists to “make good trouble.”

The format differed from that of previous rallies. Unlike the “Hands Off” and “No Kings” rallies, which were held on Saturdays and attracted hundreds, the “Good Trouble” rally was held in a park rather than on Main Street or in a field on Market Street. Attendees did not march through Main Street with protest signs. They remained in the park to peruse and collect handouts designed to share information about the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Information about possible impacts of the bill was made available for attendees to take home and subsequently spread the word about the contents of the bill, now a law—which organizers believe may be deleterious to Medicaid recipients, rural hospitals, nutritional programs, and veterans—and numerous other elements in the bill that local Indivisible organizers feel people are unaware of.

Pre-publicity had urged attendees to bring signs to “plant” in a “sign garden” on the premises. During the rally, people meandered through dedicated space, reading and reacting to the nearly 200 signs protesting ICE and its tactics, especially that of “disappearing” people, “Alligator Alcatraz,” oligarchy, and Project 2025 in general. Other signs advocated for diversity, due process and “good trouble.”

The program included a remembrance for John Lewis by CooperstownOneonta Indivisible leader and prime organizer of the rally, Virginia Kennedy, followed by a moment of silence. Devon LaBoy, Oneonta native and teacher at SUNY Oneonta’s Children’s Center, sang three songs: “Rise Up,” “This is Me,” and “Stand Up.” Leah Bridgers then led those present in the singing of “This Land is Your Land” and “American the Beautiful.”

City of Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek spoke with conviction about the fight at hand.

“We’re in a battle that can’t be deferred to another day. There may be no other day. This is a high-stakes contest between people who see government as a means to power, riches, and a capacity to exact retribution and inflict pain, and others who understand that government is meant to serve the greater good. To act on behalf of the people and not the powerful few. And let’s make our plans. Let’s make our ‘good trouble’,” he urged.

Drnek then continued, admonishing protesters to, “Educate and enlist our neighbors and join as soldiers in strategic battles that weaken the enemies of our democracy. And the best way to do that is to target their credibility. And challenge their every indefensible move. John Lewis said, ‘If you see something that’s not right, you must say something. You must do something.’”

The rally also included a food drive of nonperishable food items, organized by Oneontans Linda and Ed Spencer. The recipient for this collection was the Cooperstown Food Pantry.

Donna Schultz of Edmeston appreciated the opportunity the rally provided for freedom of expression.

“I’m thankful that we have groups such as CooperstownOneonta Indivisible, Butternut Valley Indivisible and many others in the area. They give us an opportunity to practice our constitutional rights and rise up,” she said.

Peter Martin of New Lisbon also spoke positively of the rally.

“It was great to see so many people out on a weekday,” Martin said. “The information provided was thoughtful, important, and more people need to hear and read it,” he said, adding, “The next rally, we should march.”

Asked to share her thoughts on the rally afterward, Kennedy replied by e-mail, saying, “Our rally in honor of civil rights icon John Lewis reminded people that together we have the power to fight the cruelty, lies and authoritarian danger of the Trump regime. Our members did research into the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill”—the approximately 900-page bill that passed before anyone knew what was in it.,” Kennedy wrote.

“We provided rally-goers with specific information on Medicaid cuts and cuts to education programs and more to fund tax cuts for the rich; we documented the billions of dollars the bill provides to ICE, making it a bigger masked police force than most countries’ militaries. We used the beauty of art, too: Music from talented local singers and the creation a garden of amazing and creative signs spoke powerfully to the need to fight for a just society that uplifts and unites people, rather than one that divides them against each other and demands fealty to a billionaire whose only concern is his own power and comfort.”