Under a double rainbow and muggy conditions, voters from across the Lehigh Valley gathered with their umbrellas and rally signs at the Bethlehem Rose Gardens July 30 for the second annual Good Trouble Lives On [GTLO] rally to encourage support for Democrats in the midterms this fall, and to remember the legacy of the late congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. The message of many of the event\u2019s speeches focused on fighting against Donald Trump\u2019s presidency through electing Democratic politicians as a means to \u201csave democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event was organized by Indivisible Lehigh Valley Bethlehem as a part of the nationwide GTLO Weekend of Action that was scheduled for July 17-19 to honor Lewis\u2019s passing on July 17, 2020. This year\u2019s theme was \u201cTeach! Reach! Preach!\u201d The event was rescheduled following poor air quality concerns during the Canadian wildfires and faced further challenges, with flashes of rain drizzling onto the crowd as they listened in on the calls to action and chanted in response to the empowering songs led by local gospel singer Kari Holmes. Holmes kept the rhythm of the event, performing between speeches from local Democrat politicians and excerpts from Lewis\u2019s speeches calling for \u201cgood trouble, necessary trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
The turnout for this year\u2019s event was low compared to the nearly 400 people who attended last year, attracting only around 50 to come out through the rain. \u201cI think a lot of people probably assumed that we weren\u2019t even going to have it tonight,\u201d said Indivisible LV Bethlehem\u2019s Lead Organizer Brooke McDermott.<\/p>\n
U.S. Army veteran and poet Deirdre Van Walters performed a variety of poems focused on love and unity, following a brief introduction from McDermott. \u201cI am from love. We are from love. We are love,\u201d Van Walters said speaking gently into the microphone.<\/p>\n
Former Congresswoman Susan Wild followed the poetic performance by reflecting on her experience meeting John Lewis during her time in Congress and the \u201cincredible graciousness,\u201d he showed to everyone working on Capitol Hill. \u201cWe could sure use John Lewis right now in Congress,\u201d Wild said.<\/p>\n
Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel followed with a passionate speech motivating voters to welcome those who may have voted for Trump in the past instead of turning them away from a Democratic coalition. \u201cDemocracy is built on a courageous act of love,\u201d Siegel said. \u201cIt is about choosing to share in kinship and community with all of our neighbors, no matter whether we agree with them all the time or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
His closing remark called back to Van Walters\u2019 message of love, saying, \u201cA democracy is built on a community of love and inclusivity. We all come from love.\u201d<\/p>\n
An audio message from PA-7 Democratic nominee Bob Brooks was played for the audience, highlighting his promise, if elected in November, to vote for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bill floating in Congress now to bolster the former Voting Rights Act in Lewis\u2019s name. Brooks was unable to make it to the rally after rescheduling conflicts with another event, according to Josh Wrigley, a representative from Brooks\u2019 campaign who did attend the rally.<\/p>\n
The closing speech was delivered by The Rev. Doctor Greg Edwards, senior pastor at Resurrected Life Church. He warned of the moves to concentrate power by the Trump administration and an obligation to pursue the path of democracy. \u201cDemocracy is not merely a political arrangement. It is a moral commitment,\u201d Edwards said. He continued with a call to organize saying, \u201cElections alone will not save democracy. Political outrage and righteous indignation will not save democracy. Democracy is saved when ordinary, everyday people organize.\u201d<\/p>\n
A candlelight vigil followed with Kari Holmes and the other various speakers of the night leading a political rendition of \u201cThis Little Light of Mine,\u201d as attendees held up small candles and joined in singing.<\/p>\n
Becca Stephens, a voter from Salisbury Township and member of Indivisible LV Bethlehem, shared that she plans to door-knock for the upcoming midterms. \u201cPeople are hurting,\u201d she said, \u201cand [we are] getting people to understand that there are candidates out there that are gonna fight for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amid greater concerns with the freedom and fairness of elections this year, Indivisible LV has already made plans to have \u201cpoll watching groups\u201d to watch for and track any potential interference from federal law enforcement, according to Lead Organizer Brooke McDermott.<\/p>\n
The remembrance of Lewis held greater weight this year after the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case further weakened the Voting Rights Act, a piece of legislation Lewis nearly lost his life fighting for in 1965 during an attack on a voting rights protest he helped lead in Selma, Alabama.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Voting Rights Act was gutted by the Supreme Court, which literally put me and most people I knew, pretty much in a coma,\u201d McDermott said regarding the salience of honoring John Lewis this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 64 years old. I would say that in my lifetime this [midterm] is without a question one of the most pivotal elections,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cIf we flip the House blue and we get the Senate, we can put the kibosh on so much of the horrible things that are happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kari Holmes and the other various speakers of the night lead a political rendition of \u201cThis Little Light of Mine,\u201d as attendees held up small candles and joined in singing during the Good Trouble Lives On rally in the Bethlehem Rose Garden July 30.<\/p>\n
Former Congresswoman Susan Wild, Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel, and Bob Brooks Campaign Organizer Josh Wrigley stand by waiting to speak at the rally.<\/p>\n
Wayne and Ann Dreyman hold up signs while staying protected from the rain.<\/p>\n
8 Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel speaks to the crowd about upcoming midterms and what it takes to win. Signs painted by Julie Vitalli.<\/p>\n
11 Kari Holmes performs gospel songs and call-and-response chants, engaging voters.<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTOS BY GAVEN CERCOAudience members listen to Deidre Van Walters recite a poem about love and unity in memory of longtime representative and civil rights activist John Lewis.<\/p>\n
Voters gathered at the Bethlehem Rose Gardens to rally support for the upcoming midterms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Under a double rainbow and muggy conditions, voters from across the Lehigh Valley gathered with their umbrellas and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-272206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}