The Visibility Brigade in Fort Worth posts protest signs every Tuesday.
Deborah Guerrero
If you’ve driven along some of the busier sections of Tarrant County in recent months, there’s a good chance you’ve passed under a bridge bearing an undeniably large protest message of some sort. Maybe it was a pointed message aimed at President Donald Trump, something about the still unreleased Epstein files, or a provocative few lines regarding immigration policy. Regardless, the messages are big in size and scope, but this specific series of bridge protests started with a basic, almost small question.
“I wondered, what can one 62-year-old woman do to spread the word?” said Deborah Guerrero when recalling the moment in late May she “decided to step up” and begin posting protest signs high above Interstate 30 in Fort Worth on the pedestrian bridge near Arlington Heights High School.
At that time, Guerrero was particularly bothered by the recent redistricting efforts in Tarrant County spearheaded by ultra-conservative leaders such as Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, and Commissioners Manny Ramirez and Matt Krause. Similar to how the Texas Legislature redrew the Congressional map to favor Republicans, Tarrant County did the same within its own boundaries. Guerrero says the move “felt like a theft of the people’s voice.”
“For the first three days, I was alone,” she says. “On day four, a wonderful woman, just five weeks out from hip replacement surgery, joined me. She couldn’t stay long but came back several times.”
Guerrero’s first sign read “Stop the gerrymandering, Tarrant County.” The earnest, straightforward approach to her messaging has evolved, but her commitment to the effort hasn’t changed one bit. Since then, Guerrero has joined forces with Visibility Brigade’s Fort Worth chapter and connected with people from the Indivisible TX 12 Facebook group. Three bridges in high-traffic areas of Fort Worth are now regular sites of bridge protest signs, with bridges at Interstate 20 and Bryant Irvin Road and Interstate 35 and Ripy Street joining the original spot in the mix.
With more locations and more volunteers, the creativity of the messaging has grown as well.
More recent examples of bridge signs have read: “Stop Zip-Tying Little Kids,” “Peaceful Protest is Not Terrorism,” “Trump and [Craig] Goldman Cut Cancer Research,” “Trump’s in South Park Hell,” “Grab Him B the Epstein Files” and “RFK Jr.: a Kennedy Who Will Kill Us.”
The signs certainly get attention. Sometimes, although not often, the responses haven’t been positive. Guerrero says that one time, a car swerved toward one of her fellow protesters standing well inside a “protected zone,” and there have been a few drivers who “shout and make rude gestures,” but they have been the exception, not the rule.
Whether it’s bridge protests in Fort Worth or similar protests on the Northave Bridge in Dallas, or even the nationwide No Kings protests taking place this weekend, it can be difficult to define success. Is it realistic for activists to think that Trump will step down anytime soon? Not really. Is it fair to expect Trump or Abbott to suddenly change their tune on immigration or any other hot-button topic? Probably not. But that’s not what Guerrero views as success when it comes to her efforts. She’s answering that simple, but profound question she asked herself back in May before she hung her first sign.
“During our two-and-a-half-hour bridge protests, we reach between 35,000 and 37,000 cars — and that’s just vehicles, not passengers. We also post photos and updates on Reddit, where our messages receive 170,000 to 200,000 views, with 50 to 200 shares per post. We don’t measure success by numbers or big expectations. Our mission is simple: to raise awareness. We chose Tuesday morning rush hour because data shows it’s the busiest time — and, honestly, because I’m off on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays,” she says with a laugh. “But there’s purpose in that choice. These are working people heading into their day. If seeing our signs sparks even one workplace conversation, if it inspires even one person to dig deeper, to resist, and to stand brave with us, then we’ve accomplished our mission.”