Thursday Night, SB Waterfront Candlelight Vigil Will Join "Good Trouble" Trump Protests Nationwide
In honor of the late civil rights leader and congress member John Lewis, Indivisible Santa Barbara organized a one-hour vigil as a demonstration against right-wing extremist attacks on U.S. freedoms
The latest local protest in an ongoing series of demonstrations against the cruelty, corruption and incompetence of the Trump Administration is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday night (July 17), at the Dolphin Fountain at Stearns Wharf.
Organizers with Indivisible Santa Barbara, the coalition that has taken the lead in coordinating public displays of opposition to Trump, said the event is one of more than 1,000 “Good Trouble” rallies planned across the nation, a call-out to the legacy of the late civil rights leader and House Representative John Lewis.
The protest will begin on Thursday, July 17 at 7:30 p.m. and will end at 8:30 p.m.
“The local action in Santa Barbara is part of ‘Good Trouble Lives On,’” the group said in a media statement, “a nationwide day of peaceful, nonviolent action rooted in the legacy of the civil rights movement and inspired by John Lewis’ call to make ‘good trouble, necessary trouble.’”
The protest, planned as an “electronic candlelight vigil” spread out along Cabrillo Street, marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Lewis, a civil rights movement icon who used the phrase "Good Trouble" to characterize peaceful, non-violent action on behalf of social justice and against political oppression.
It comes at a time when Santa Barbara remains shocked and simmering with outrage over the militarized confrontation with protesters carried out last week by federal immigration agents at the Glass House Farms cannabis facility in Carpinteria, ostensibly to arrest dangerous undocumented migrants.
Rep. Salud Carbajal, who confronted some of the armed officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security during the July 10 incident, said in a Newsmakers interview that ICE officials still have not provided him any details about the arrests made a week ago, despite constant demands from his office for information.
“Participants will gather to demand an end to the authoritarian attacks on our freedom to vote, protest, and organize — and to stand united against efforts to criminalize our communities, roll back our rights, and slash vital public programs,” Indivisible organizers said.
Indivisible SB is a non-profit organization that is part of the nationwide Indivisible movement, with “a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and stand for civil and human rights,” they said.
The group asked those participating in the local protest to gather at the fountain at the intersection of State Street and Cabrillo Boulevard, and then to spread out on the sidewalk along Cabrillo Blvd.
“Participants should bring an electronic candle or flashlight, along with protest signs honoring the legacy of John Lewis,” they said.
More information about the national campaign is at www.goodtroubleliveson.org.
Image: President Barack Obama presented John Lewis with a 2010 Presidential Medal of Honor (Tampa Bay Times).