BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Verses from the songs “Which Side are You On?” and “Oh, Freedom!” resounded through Rose Garden Park on a warm evening Thursday.
The Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards, founder and senior pastor of Allentown’s Resurrected Life Church, belted as he directed a few hundred rally attendees in song.
As rays of the setting sun peeked through a nearby sycamore tree, the group reflected on the “good trouble” set forth by the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis in his nonviolent push for civil rights for all and the end of racial segregation in America.
Thursday marked five years since Lewis's death from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 80.
An icon of the American Civil Rights Movement and decadeslong freedom fighter, Lewis was part of lunch counter sit-ins, the 1963 March on Washington and the infamous “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama — where he was beaten by state policemen and suffered a fractured skull during a civil rights march to the state capital city of Montgomery.
The country witnessed the news broadcasts of Bloody Sunday, which went on to play a key role in the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 targeting the previous disenfranchisement of Black voters.
'Good Trouble Lives On'
Lewis was said to have been arrested more than 40 times in his days of nonviolent protesting.
He coined the term “good trouble,” which Thursday’s event organizer, Indivisible Lehigh Valley Bethlehem, said “encourage[s] Americans to come together and take peaceful, nonviolent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.”
“Good Trouble Lives On” rallies and marches will continue elsewhere in the country this weekend, too, including Nashville, Tennessee, and Williamsport, Lycoming County.
“Today, we intend to remind the Trump administration and all those within that in America the power lies with the people."Indivisible Lehigh Valley Bethlehem organizer Brooke McDermott
“Today, we intend to remind the Trump administration and all those within that in America the power lies with the people,” ILVB organizer Brooke McDermott said.
A pre-rally statement from her group said the current presidential administration and legislative majority has implemented a “brazen rollback of civil rights — whether voting rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, the gutting of essential services, the disappearance of our neighbors or the assault on free speech.”
The crowd in front of her was filled with picket signs and poster boards.
They read, “Refuse fascism,” “Stand with Planned Parenthood,” “Fire Nazi Noem,” “Unity is our victory,” “We will never be silenced” and “Who Would Jesus Deport?”
'¡Sí, se puede!'
Guillermo Lopez Jr., president of Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley, opened and closed his few minutes on the mic with chants of “¡Sí, se puede!” (“Yes, we can!”)
“What I learned from John Lewis is that it’s everyone’s responsibility to interrupt harm when they see it happen, no matter how small it is,” Lopez said.
“John Lewis taught us that progress is not granted, it is earned through courage in the face of adversity, through unwavering commitment to what is right and to the willingness to step out of our comfort zone and into the streets.”
“What I learned from John Lewis is that it’s everyone’s responsibility to interrupt harm when they see it happen, no matter how small it is."Guillermo Lopez Jr., president of Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley
At HCLV, he said, the community’s seniors are afraid to come to the facility to pick up food or even to just socialize.
Neighbors are disappearing, he said.
Janine Santoro, Bethlehem’s director of equity and inclusion, said city officials are committed to providing funding to frontline nonprofits through the Community Recovery Fund and Community Development Block Grants.
“None of us can do everything, but we can all do something."Janine Santoro, Bethlehem’s director of equity and inclusion
Another measure to protect the city’s most vulnerable, she said, is strengthening the Human Relations Commission.
Santoro said city police don’t ask about immigration status during traffic stops or service calls and don’t take part in the federal 287(g) program, which deputizes local law enforcement to carry out the duties typically held by federal immigration authorities.
She said the city’s people have a direct way of helping their neighbors each November — by going to the ballot box.
“None of us can do everything, but we can all do something,” Santoro said.
'Stand together, indivisible'
Rabbi Michael Singer, religious leader of Congregation Brith Sholom of Bethlehem, said, “You are here tonight to say no to hate and to honor the memory of John Lewis by not hating even those who may hate us.
“You are here tonight to say no to hate and to honor the memory of John Lewis by not hating even those who may hate us."Rabbi Michael Singer, religious leader of Congregation Brith Sholom
“We need to open their minds and eyes to what is really being done: They’re being used, manipulated, corrupted — not for the good.
“So we have to end hate for good. We have to protect our neighbors. We need to speak out, we need to be loud.
“When they come for one of us, they come for all of us. We must stand together, indivisible.”
