All posts by Roger Straw

Editor, owner, publisher of The Benicia Independent
Democracy under attack, Good Trouble, John Lewis, Local vigilance

GOOD TROUBLE LIVES ON in Benicia – Your Personal Invitation

“Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.” – John Lewis

You are cordially, personally, and expansively invited…

…to a Vallejo and Benicia Day of Action – Good Trouble Lives On, commemorating the July 17, 2020 death of Rep. John Lewis. Together, we will advocate for freedom and democracy in the Trump era. RALLY in CITY PARK,  Thursday, July 17th, from 5-6 pm at the Gazebo, corner of First & Military in Benicia.

Rep. John Lewis – “When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.” (July 30, 2020)

Crowd at the Gazebo, Roger Straw – Benicia Independent

Benicia California — On Thursday, July 17, community members in Benicia and Vallejo will join Americans at hundreds of events nationwide to honor the legacy of Congressman John Lewis and fight back against the growing attacks on our civil and human rights.

The local action in Benicia is part of Good Trouble Lives On — a nationwide day of peaceful, nonviolent action rooted in the legacy of the civil rights movement and inspired by John Lewis’ call to make “good trouble, necessary trouble.”

Participants from Vallejo and Benicia will gather to demand an end to the authoritarian attacks on our freedom to vote, protest, and organize — and to stand united against efforts to criminalize our communities, roll back our rights, and slash vital public programs.

The event is cosponsored by Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible, League of Women Voters Solano and the Vallejo-Benicia AAUW, and expands on Benicia’s EVERY Thursday 5-6pm vigil for democracy.

Speakers include Dr. Tonia Lediju, Vallejo City Council and Kari Birdseye, Benicia City Council

The rally will also provide opportunity for voter registration, information about Unite and Rise 8.5, and 5Calls, and other ways to participate in the democratic process, plus a canned food drive for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano counties.

>> For the food drive please bring one or more of the following items: Peanut butter, Canned Tuna or chicken in water, Boxed mac and Cheese, Shelf stable milk, Applesauce, Beans/lentils (dry or canned), Rice, Whole grain cereal/crackers, Whole wheat/grain pasta, Canned soups/vegetables/tomato products, Canned fruits, cartons of 100% juice, non-perishable ready-to-eat meals (chili, ravioli, etc.)

Bring your homemade signs, gather around the Gazebo with banners, hear the speakers, visit a popup canopy with tables for people registering to vote and signing up to get involved, leave your food items in the drive barrels.

To learn more about the national campaign, visit www.goodtroubleliveson.org.

GOOD TROUBLE – ALL OVER THE BAY AREA…
Benicia Gazebo, corner of First & Military Streets

>> IN BENICIA / VALLEJO: July 17th GOOD TROUBLE LIVES ON! 5-6pm at the Gazebo in Benicia City Park (map: First and Military Streets) – see more above.

>> IN FAIRIELD: Thu, Jul 17
5:00 PM — 6:00 PM, Garamendi’s Office Building, Fairfield, CA . Here’s a map.

>> IN NAPA: Thu, Jul 17, 5:30 PM — 7:00 PM PDT, Veterans Memorial Park, Napa, CA.

> ALL OVER THE BAY AREA: Go to goodtroubleliveson.org and enter your zip code. Then click a city on the big map to get details.

U.S. Representative and beloved activist John Lewis…

“From a small farm in Alabama, to life-risking service in the civil rights movement, to three decades in Congress, he was always ‘walking with the wind,’ steered by a moral compass that told him when to make good trouble and when to heal troubled waters. Always true to his word, his faith, and his principles, John Lewis became the conscience of the nation.”
– Former President Bill Clinton and Former Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, Associated Press, July 18, 2020

Benicia Black Lives Matter, Juneteenth

Library and Benicia Black Lives Matter Present Juneteenth Program

THIS WEEK THURSDAY!

Radical Reparations
Thursday, June 19
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Benicia Public Library and Zoom

In honor of Juneteenth, the Benicia Public Library and Benicia Black Lives Matter invite the community to a powerful and timely program titled “Radical Reparations: Unpacking Freedom and Justice on Juneteenth.” This free event will take place on Thursday, June 19, 2025, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Benicia Public Library and will also be available via Zoom.

The Benicia Library is at 150 East L Street – map.

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion featuring Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter, scholar of race, politics, and African American life, California State Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and Brandon L. Greene, Esq., civil rights attorney and advocate. Together, they will explore the concept of radical reparations—examining its historical roots, current implications, and potential pathways toward justice and healing for Black Americans.

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and invites reflection on the continuing struggle for equity. This program encourages open dialogue and deeper understanding of what true freedom and reparative justice look like in today’s America.

This event is free and open to all. For more information or to receive the Zoom link, please contact the Library at (707) 746-4343 or visit www.benicialibrary.org.

More from BenIndy Editor…

Here’s the ZOOM LINK:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87297469848?pwd=yGZYUl4XxF00vCDdfzpelJUfiHaFk5.1 ]

Black lives matter! And multiracial solidarity is increasingly important in our times as we confront a powerful and coordinated renewal of overt white nationalism.
…..– Roger Straw, Editor

…
>> Celebrate Juneteenth with this delicious poem by Amena Brown…

JUNETEENTH

We carry liberation in our cheekbones
We fold the stories of our ancestors
Into song
Into science
Into fashion
Into food
Into innovation
We follow the recipe in the legacy of our people
And it is there we nourish ourselves

We gather
Here
Together
To bring ourselves to a table where love
is always served
Let’s come home to each other
We are our own harvest
We are our own healing place

We gather
Here
Together
To heal
To remind ourselves of a freedom song
To sing for those who may not feel like singing
To sing for those who are no longer here
to sing
To honor the freedom we have
And fight for the freedom we have yet to see

We rest and we protest
We pick beans and pop gum
We pontificate
We fix grandma a plate

Our joy is our resistance
Our beauty is our glory
Our courage is our resilience
Our freedom is written
in the follicles of our hair
In each other
We have strength for the journey
…………………………………………Amena Brown, 2021

Democracy under attack, Donald Trump, Local vigilance, No Kings!

Benicia crowd of 1200+ protests Trump

NO KINGS DAY 2025 – One for the ages when we talk about political activism in Benicia

All photos by Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent

By Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent, June 15, 2025

Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent

In the last few days before the NO KINGS! rally in Benicia, as the numbers of respondents came in, planners knew it was going to be big. We thought there might even be, say, 250 or 300, which would be huge by almost all previous Benicia activist crowds. Big indeed – most estimates of the crowd were well over 1,000 and up to 1,500!

Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they tell a lot. This was a WOW! event in Benicia!

I arrived by car about a half hour early, expecting to help get things going. The sidewalks and park were already packed with people holding signs, chanting loudly and encouraging passing cars to honk their support.

I couldn’t find a parking place any closer than 3 ½ blocks away. Walking from there, we came upon an older couple like us, carrying signs and heading to the rally. After friendly greetings, the gentleman said he’d never protested during the ‘60s and ‘70s, and that this would be his first time attending a protest. Mary Susan got a good laugh when she responded, “Oh, we’re veterans at this and you’ll be fine!” We chatted some more, and learned that we’d all spent time living in Indianapolis, and so bonded as former Hoosiers.

The crowd in the park and all along the sidewalk was incredibly friendly. We hugged and chatted with lots of old friends, some of whom we hadn’t seen in years. We met new people and stood for pictures with our high-school graduate grandson, who arrived with a bunch of other Benicia High students. I’ve been to many protests, rallies and vigils in Benicia. You get used to seeing the same old (literally old) people. Not since March For Our Lives have I seen such a mix of young and old. Not since Black Lives Matter have I seen such a racially diverse crowd of concerned Benicians. And I’ve never seen such a wide spectrum of known and new folks. It was encouraging to know that NO KINGS has such a solid base of support in our small town. Yes!

Organizer Cathy Bennett came in her long red Handmaid’s Tale robe, and kicked off the event with a bullhorn welcome that could hardly be heard over the chants and cars honking.

Organizer Susan Street set up a welcome table and brought a portable bubble machine, which she carried around giving a celebratory light and life to the affair.

Later, Benicia Mayor Steve Young and City Councilmember Terry Scott spoke. And near the end of our time together, our State Senator Chris Cabaldon arrived and offered remarks. After his talk, I approached Chris with thanks, and with a knowing look that acknowledged the political assassination in Minneapolis that morning, I encouraged him to “be brave.”

I almost can’t express fully the sense I have that this gathering was historic for Benicia. And that the 2000+ similar rallies around the U.S. and abroad were also way larger than expected and peaceful, and strong in the growing public opposition to the Trump administration’s shockingly ambitious moves toward an authoritarian takeover that would destroy our democracy. The signs held up by protesters show us to be a thinking city, an aware and deeply concerned nation and world.

This can’t be the last such lifting of our voices in dissent. We continue to be a people of peace and kindness, a nation of liberty and justice for all. (See Benicia’s Juneteenth celebration.) In the “culture war” that is being promoted and executed by oligarchs and white Christian supremacists, we represent the backbone and vision of Dr. King’s long arc of the moral universe. “…the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Along with the rally signs, The Benicia Independent lifts a strong and insistent voice: Stop ICE! No Kings since 1776! Stop the cruelty! Liberty and justice for all! We will PERSIST and PREVAIL! Love always wins!

Roger Straw
The Benicia Independent