A few dozen people came out to the Good Trouble Lives On Day of Action at the Marion County Courthouse on Thursday.
Some protesters held signs, others wore costumes and rang bells. As cars drove by a few honked and shouted their support through open windows.
The rally was scheduled five years after John Lewis’s death. Lewis was a congressman and civil rights activist who was quoted saying, “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
The rallies were held in protest to President Donald Trump and his administration.
Marion’s protest, which saw more than two dozen participants, was one of hundreds across the country. Organizers said the event’s time, scheduled for 3-5 p.m., may have prevented more from joining the protest.
Why did the protesters show up for the rally?
Jim Clark, one of the protesters at the Good Trouble Lives On rally, says he’s participating in rallies throughout the year.
One protestor, Jim Clark, said he’s been attending rallies since the beginning of the year. He said he attended Thursday in response to the defunding of the USAID and the resulting food waste, and funding cuts to public media like NPR.
Clark said he protests for the sake of his children and grandchildren.
“I want to save at least the America I grew up in,” Clark said. “I’ve always been a fan of the idea of America and its being run now by people who want to destroy it.”
Joelyn Lanning, a Morrow County resident, shared Clark’s sentiment, saying she was protesting for her grandchildren.
“I don’t think it will be fixed in my lifetime,” Lanning said. “I’m hoping it’s fixed by the time my granddaughters are grown, because this is not a world I want them to inherit.”
Joelyn Lanning, a Morrow County resident, joined the Marion County Good Trouble Lives On rally on July 17. She says she was protesting for her grandchildren because “I don’t think it will be fixed in my lifetime.”
Lanning: ‘There a lot of hate’
Lanning said she’s concerned with Trump’s “lack of transparency on the facts,” the abolishment of the USAID, and changes to education in Ohio. She’s noticed a “lack of kindness.”
“There’s a lot of hate,” Lanning said. “There is a divide, it seems like that it’s two sides. It’s two sides against each other.”
Mike Hirneise, left, and Mike Ring join protestors Thursday, July 17, for the Good Trouble Lives On rally.
Mike Ring and Mike Hirneise joined the protest in response to cuts to the USAID and other “social safety networks,” including potential cuts to programs like the Boys and Girls Club.
Hirneise said he’s seen increases in prices at the grocery store, especially since tariffs went into effect.
“It’s really hurting marginalized, disadvantaged people,” Ring said. “That’s not who we are as a country, we’re better than that.”
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion’s Good Trouble Lives On protest sees more than two dozen