The American Civil Liberties Union is organizing mass resistance to President Donald Trump’s threats to civil rights, liberties, and basic constitutional freedoms.
On this President’s Day, when our nation is in turmoil and its democracy may be in doubt, let us remind ourselves of – and celebrate -- our Constitution and its Bill of Rights, that guarantee our rights as free citizens, regardless of race, creed, country of origin, or gender, in a country guided by the rule of law and the will of its people, freely expressed.
On Inauguration Day, I headed for Washington, D.C., my hometown, with three other Berkshire women… our hostess — who is the wife of a long-time career foreign-service officer — offered “Democracy is not a spectator sport.”
Event organizers made a goal to bring in 100 sister marchers at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass. The event website got 450 RSVPs and expectations rose to 600 and, nearing the end, the clicker count had stretched to at least 1,500.
In Berkshire County, we have a free indoor sister event in solidarity with the Women's March on Washington at the Colonial Theatre on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event was organized by a local steering committee that includes Kristen van Ginhoven of Lenox-based WAM Theatre, which focuses on work by female theater artists and stories for women and girls, and volunteers Jayne Benjulian, Lynn Festa and Mary Lincoln.
“I am originally from Mexico, but I am not a rapist or a murderer or a thief. I am basically just a nice person. The American Dream can become the American Nightmare in times of intolerance when immigrants and naturalized citizens are made to feel afraid.”
-- Eleanor Velez, Director of the Berkshire Community College Multicultural Center
