Great Barrington — Railroad Street businesses Bon Dimanche and Hart took part in a national general strike on Friday, January 30, to protest the crackdown on immigration by the Trump administration and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis.
On January 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renée Good while she was in her car.
On January 20, ICE agents in Minneapolis detained five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos as he was walking home from school, along with his father Adrian Conejo Arias.
On January 24, ICE agents shot multiple times and killed Alex Pretti.
In solidarity with strikes and protests against ICE’s actions in Minnesota, multiple organizations called for a nationwide general strike for January 30.
A sign was posted in front of Bon Dimanche on January 30 that read:
In solidarity with the Minneapolis Community, we are participating in the general strike to take a stand against ICE.
Next door at HART, information is available about what you can do to help.
Thank you for your understanding and help in supporting immigrants and a safe community for all.
The closed sign in front of Hart explaining that the store is taking part of the strike read:
Closed for business.
Open for community.
We will be here at the table making things, talking, and being together in solidarity with Minnesota and against ICE.
Store owner Jamie Goldenberg wrote on the store’s social media page:
To be clear: We cannot actually afford a full day of being shut down.
But also, the federal government [is] kidnaping and killing people in the street.
Come through today and learn about how to get involved in local efforts to keep immigrants safe.
Various people will be coming by today to talk about how they have gotten involved.
Goldenberg explained to The Berkshire Edge how tough it is for a small business to close during a weekday. “We lost a couple of days of business during the last snowstorm,” she said. “But in this space and this town, we are all about community. We want to do everything we can for those among us who are most at risk. There is nobody coming to save us. This is it. We have to do this together.”
During the strike, Goldenberg was at a table in her store talking to people and offering support. “We want to be here to help people understand how they can get involved beyond protesting,” she said.
Among those at Hart during the day was Great Barrington resident and poet Sarah Trudgeon.
Both Goldenberg and Trudgeon said they witnessed the incident last May when a resident was apprehended by ICE agents in Great Barrington. “We should be ready to protect vulnerable people in our community,” Trudgeon said. “We should put support behind the organizations that are doing that really hard work and have been dealing with these things for a long time, including BASIC Berkshires that supports immigrants and their families.”
South County Resistance is organizing a protest against ICE in front of Great Barrington Town Hall at noon on Saturday, January 31.
