Berkshire County — Since President Donald J. Trump took office in January, protests have popped up both across the country and throughout Berkshire County.
These protests have included the “People’s March” in January, the “No Kings in America: Rally for Democracy” in early March in Pittsfield, along with the national Hands Off! series of rallies that took place earlier this month in Great Barrington, Pittsfield, Stockbridge, and towns across the county.
On Saturday, April 19, Trump’s 90th day in office, the political action group 50501 (“50 protests, 50 states, one movement”) organized further protests all across the country. “Our movement shows the world that the American working class will not sit idly by as plutocrats rip apart their democratic institutions and civil liberties while undermining the rule of law,” the group’s website states.
As part of the April 19 national protest, rallies were held in Great Barrington, West Stockbridge, Pittsfield, and Williamstown. In Great Barrington, hundreds of people lined up in front of Town Hall all the way down to Saint James Place on Main Street.
Both young and old protested in the April 19 rally, but one of the youngest protesters was Laura Baker, 8, who was with her mother Lilia Baker, both from Ashley Falls.
Laura and her mother Lilia said that they were attending the protest for very personal reasons. “My grandmother, if she comes here—she’s afraid about what would happen if she comes here,” Laura Baker said. “She’s a Mexican-born, naturalized U.S. citizen. She chose to self-deport to the most dangerous state in Mexico. There are a lot of reasons why we are here, but that’s one of the most important. She’s lived [in America] for over 40 years, but she chose to self-deport.”
“We love her very much,” Laura Baker added. “We want her to come back home.”
Event co-organizer Deborah Alecson, who was seen throughout the protest with a megaphone shouting out words of encouragement to protestors, said that she was not surprised by the high turnout at the rally. “People are pissed off, angry, and frightened,” Alecson said. “People are protesting this administration because they recognize that they are not the only ones who are having the thoughts they are having. These protests are demonstrations to the powers that be that we are here, we are angry, and we are willing to step out and express ourselves. We can’t predict what the future is going to bring, so we just have to do what’s right in the moment, and that contributes to hope.”
“We’re doing this protest in solidarity with protests that are happening all over the country,” said Great Barrington resident Jeanne Bassis. “”Every single day there are protests happening. To me, this [presidential administration] is not a democracy. This is a wannabe dictatorship. These are a bunch of very greedy, very wealthy men who want to take over the world.”
In regards to the multiple protests since Trump took office, Great Barrington resident Roselle Chartock said that “if you do nothing, nothing will change.” “If you do something, there will be change, and there will be a positive feeling in each one of us that there’s hope for this democracy,” Chartock said. “Without any kind of standing up for democracy, all is lost. While I know we’re not going to see instant action taken to get wrong turned into right, I feel in my heart that I am contributing to historic precedent, which is standing up for what is right. We saw this during the Vietnam War, with Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and there was change, but that takes a long time.”
Great Barrington resident Janice Gildawie held a sign that read “One if by land, two if by D.C.: No Kings!,” referencing the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19. “Paul Revere warned that the British were coming by water, and my sign is a takeoff on [the Trump administration] coming to D.C. with all of these horrific things that are being done by our Republican administration,” Gildawie said. “It’s important to show people that we disagree with what is happening, and there are a wide variety of reasons why people are disagreeing. There have been numerous cases where the administration has backed off from implementing heinous things, and I think the protests are helping with that.”
Another protest against the Trump administration is scheduled for Thursday, May 1.
According to the 50501 website, as of press time, there are protests scheduled in Boston, Hingham, Worcester, and Springfield.
