Photo provided Rallygoers Charlotte Young of Bokchito and Pat Notley of Durant enjoy a moment during the “Good Trouble” rally in Durant last week, one of more than 1,600 held nationwide to protest injustices by the Trump administration, including holding immigrants without due process. The rallies were named in honor of deceased civil- rights legend Rep. John Lewis, who often urged people to fight injustice by making “good trouble, necessary trouble.” Notley, one of the rally organizers, estimated that 35-40 people attended the rally.
A “Good Trouble Lives On” rally took place last week in Durant, one of over 1,600 across the nation named in honor of deceased civil-rights icon Rep. John Lewis.
Lewis, who died in 2020, represented Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives and had worked non-violently against injustice since he was a teenager. He often urged people both inside and outside politics to make noise on behalf of justice, to cause what he called “good trouble, necessary trouble.”
July 17, the fifth anniversary of Lewis’ death, has been named the John Lewis National Day of Action in his honor.
Pat Notley, one of the rally leaders, estimated that about 40 people attended. The rally was held in Durant’s historic market square, where earlier that day a crew of 10 people did clean-up and landscape maintenance.
Rally signs displayed such slogans as “It’s not about what’s left or right, but about what’s right or wrong,” “Hate can’t make us great,” “Save Social Security, and “Fund Public Education.”
Notley noted that one man, who asked not to be identified, joined the rally carrying an American flag. He was attending every Oklahoma rally he could as part of his personal effort “to do something, anything, to fight fascism in this country.”
She expressed gratitude to the Durant Police for helping to provide a safe atmosphere in which to hold the rally.
