‘Good Trouble Lives On’ rally sees about 650 participants in Sequim

Published 6:30 am Wednesday, July 23, 2025

On the fifth anniversary of the death of John Lewis, about 650 locals turned out around the intersection of Washington Street and Priest Road for the civil rights rally on July 17.

Lewis served from 1986 until his death in 2020 as the U.S. Representative for the 5th Congressional District of Georgia.

Alex Fane, co-chair of Indivisible Sequim’s political action committee, said that Lewis “was very devoted to nonviolence, like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Thoreau and the rest. He stayed true to those principles all his life.”

“We’re honoring the fifth anniversary of his passing because we see there’s a coordinated campaign by this administration to make voting difficult,” Fane said.

Additionally, participants expressed a range of issues with the current administration, including the treatment of immigrants.

Indivisible Sequim’s announcement of the rally stated, “From voter suppression bills like the SAVE Act to the criminalization of protest, the current administration is launching a full-scale attack on our civil and human rights. But we know the truth: in America, the power lies with the people, and we’re rising to prove it. This is more than a protest; it’s a moral reckoning. A continuation of the movement Lewis helped lead, and a new front in the struggle for freedom.”

Similarly to previous Indivisible events, volunteers donned yellow vests to monitor the safety of the crowd and assist with road-crossings. The Sequim Police Department also monitored the event.

Volunteers with blue vests assisted with a canned food donation drop-off near First Fed.

New volunteers were out and as one anonymous woman said, “I’ve been to all the protests, now I’m a volunteer.”

Chris Walker, co-chair of the political action committee, said that 350 people have expressed interest in being a volunteer with the non-profit organization in the last four months.

She said that organizers hope they will join the existing volunteers, approximately 120, for “varying participation from just being a yellow vest, to being on the research and educational team, wellness and resilience team, community outreach team and the events/ political team, which is the largest with 75 people.”

“There are approximately 30-40 of us who put in a lot of hours weekly,” Walker said.

“The levels of connection are creating a strong community on many levels,” Fane said.

“April 5th (a “Hands-off” demonstration that drew about 1,400 people to protest federal policies in Sequim as well as millions nationally) did so much to lift the gloom off everybody and it’s been continuing ever since.”

June 14’s “No Kings” protest brought even more people out, with at least 2,600 people at the same location as the July 17 rally.

Organizers said 650 was a good turn out for a Thursday on Lavender Weekend.

“It’s good to see a lot people standing up,” said participant Judy Simsich.

“Hopefully we’ll see something good happen before the four years is up. Too much power has been given to the president through the Supreme Court. In congress they’re not doing their jobs; Republicans are not standing up for democracy. There are no checks and balances like we used to have.”

Without immigrants, she said, “who’s going to bring in the crops? We need the immigrants. The whole economy needs them.”

Janice Parks, manning the crosswalks with her husband Tony Parks, said, “We love our country, that’s why we’re here.”