My mother lives in the Village of Hamburg near Main and Buffalo Streets. About a year ago, on a Saturday morning, she heard cars beeping outside. She looked out her window and saw four people at the traffic circle holding signs protesting what was happening to our government and our country under the Trump 2.0 Administration. Both she and I have always been faithful voters and followers of the news. We even had our own signs made already, and had attended a couple of protests earlier in the year. When she saw the group in the circle, she quickly grabbed her sign and went down to join them. Afterward, she told me that they planned to be there every Saturday. So, the following week I grabbed my sign, met my mom and joined in!
Lately, I have had conversations about whether protesting, “does anything.” For me, protesting has the ability to start and continue chain reactions–both big and small. The Do Something! Southtowns weekly protests at the circle have steadily grown in the past year. That means more and more people are making a conscious effort to get themselves out there and publicly display how they feel. I have heard people say that seeing our group every week made them feel like they could “take the next step” and join us to protest for the first time.
For me personally, being part of the group has inspired me to take even more steps, like canvassing for politicians I believe in, volunteering at justice and equity events, and traveling to other communities to join their protests. There are local groups like ours that have formed all over the country who protest regularly. This affects the social and political atmosphere, as well as people’s mindsets. We should not underestimate the fact that since Trump’s second term, millions of people have come out to protest and will continue to do so to demand change.
-Molly G.