Protests Cause ‘Good Trouble’ Honoring The Late John Lewis

by Sharelle B. McNair

July 18, 2025

Protests were held July 17, honoring the memory of the late congressman and civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis for “Good Trouble Lives On” national day of action.

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Protestors honored the memory of the late congressman and civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis by protesting President Donald Trump’s controversial policies in the streets for “Good Trouble Lives On” national day of action held July 17, NBC News reported. 

The peaceful protests and events were held along streets, courthouses, and other public spaces in cities throughout the U.S., including cities targeted by Trump ICE raids like Atlanta and St. Louis, Missouri. Organized by a coalition of nonprofits like Public Citizen, co-president Lisa Gilbert said, given the state of the political climate, showcasing the grievances of the country on a national day of action is necessary. “We are navigating one of the most terrifying moments in our nation’s history,” Gilbert said. 

“We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and lawlessness within our administration … as the rights, freedoms, and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged.”

Lewis, who was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists — a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr — passed away in 2020 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Efforts from King and Lewis led to then-President Lyndon Johnson pressing Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act in 1965, just days after Lewis and 600 protesters were beaten by police while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, a day now known as Bloody Sunday. 

Before his passing, Lewis was able to commemorate the 1965 voting rights marches. “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America,” Lewis said. 

The “Good Trouble Lives On” protests are added to the growing protests across the country amid Trump’s policies. In early July 2025, federal law enforcement and protestors engaged in a tense standoff due to a chaotic raid and arrests of immigrants on two Southern California marijuana farms, resulting in one farmworker dying after falling from a greenhouse roof, according to The Associated Press. 

As demonstrators labeled Trump as a dictator and wannabe king for honoring his birthday with a military parade, “No Kings” demonstrations launched protests with millions of people marching in cities like New York and Charlotte. Thousands of people took over the streets of Los Angeles in early June 2025 after Trump sent the National Guard against them for taking a stance against illegal deportations. 

Members of Congress like Rep. Raphael Warnock took to social media to remember their legendary colleague, saying he hoped Lewis’s memory prompts everyone to “continue getting into #GoodTrouble.”

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