John Lewis, the late civil rights activist and congressman, coined the term "good trouble" for the kind of trouble that's good to get into, like standing up for the rights of others against the forces that would strip those rights away.
On Thursday, July 17, the fifth anniversary of Lewis' death, thousands of people across the country will be participating in "Good Trouble Lives On" protests, including in Salinas and Monterey.
The peaceful protests are inspired by Lewis in the face of the Trump Administration's actions to remove rights of voters, workers and many others, as well as its dismantling of government agencies and cuts to health care, education, veterans and numerous other services.
The Salinas protest begins at 5pm and lasts until 7pm, at the intersection of East Alisal Street and North Sanborn Road, between the Bank of America and Cardenas Market.
In Monterey the protest begins at 5:30pm and ends at 7:30pm at Window on the Bay Park on Del Monte Avenue. It includes a program featuring a brief sing-a-long led by Michael Eaglesong and Vocal Activists of Monterey Peninsula, and remarks by Monterey Councilmember Kim Barber, activist Glodean Champion and the president of the Monterey County branch of the NAACP, Lyndon Tarver.
The event also includes a brief recording of the commencement speech where Lewis encouraged people to get into "good trouble," and a session of community poetry writing led by Champion. Donations of non-perishable food will be collected by All-In Monterey County.
Participants in the protests will also be holding signs and demonstrating peacefully in a show of opposition to the Trump Administration and its policies.
The protests are organized by local volunteers and hosted by several national groups, including Indivisible, the Transformative Justice Coalition, Black Voters Matter, Declaration for American Democracy and Public Citizen.