Category Archives: John Lewis

Democracy under attack, Good Trouble, John Lewis, Local vigilance, Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible

Good Trouble Lives on in Vallejo & Benicia, Weekend of July 17-19 2026

Remembering  John Lewis,  Calling  for  Democracy,  Freedom  &  Justice  for  All

Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible, July 14, 2026

Stand Up for Democracy Rally & Food Drive

When Congressman John Lewis passed away, he left us with a clear directive: “Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

Saturday, July 18th, Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible is answering that call by participating in a national Good Trouble Day of Action. If you were with us last year, you know how powerful it is when our local community unites to protect our democratic institutions.

Saturday, July 18, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Stand Up for Democracy Rally & Food Drive
At the corner of Admiral Callaghan and Plaza Dr
1175 Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo
(near Home Depot)

The fight to protect voting rights never ends, and right now, we’re witnessing a Jim-Crow-era effort from politicians and their billionaire friends to restrict our freedoms, silence our voices, and consolidate power.

But in America, we choose our leaders. We will decide our future. The same spirit that fueled Selma, Montgomery, and the March on Washington lives on in our unified action.

Six years after the passing of Congressman Lewis, we’re organizing an event in our community to carry the torch, continue the legacy of John Lewis, and pass it forward to future generations. Join us!

We are expanding our standard Saturday rally into a dedicated, peaceful Good Trouble demonstration and community food drive. Bring your passion, your energy, and your homemade signs as we stand united for our freedoms!

True democracy means taking care of our neighbors. We are hosting a food drive alongside our rally to benefit Food is Free Bay Area. Please bring non-perishable, shelf-stable food items to the Chevy’s parking lot. Learn more about their vital food rescue work at fifbayarea.org.

Good Trouble Lives On is a non-partisan weekend of action. We require that participants commit to not advocate for, endorse, or oppose any political candidate or ballot initiative. A core principle behind all Good Trouble Lives On events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

MORE from Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible – Full Schedule for Saturday July 18

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Stand Up for Democracy Rally & Food Drive
• Location: Sidewalks at Admiral Callaghan Lane & Plaza Drive (near Home Depot).
• We are taking our standard Saturday rally and amplifying it to represent the spirit of Good Trouble. Grab your progressive signs and line the sidewalks with us!
• Supporting Food is Free Bay Area: Because a healthy democracy includes taking care of our community, we are hosting a food drive right alongside the rally. Please bring canned goods and shelf-stable items to drop off in the Chevy’s parking lot. Check out their amazing food rescue work at fifbayarea.org.
• Action: Please sign up here so we know you’re coming!

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Reclaim Our Vote “Write & Hold” Postcard Party
• Location: Vallejo Private Residence (Address sent upon RSVP)
• Keep the momentum going after the rally! Reclaim Our Vote is gearing up for the critical midterm elections, and we need your hands, and your passion! Between now and October, we are launching “Write and Hold” postcard campaigns, getting out the vote in areas of the country where there is ongoing voter suppression. We will be urging people to vote by writing to BIPOC voters in five key states: North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Texas, and Alabama. Every month, we will focus on a different state—writing the cards now and holding them to mail right when it matters most, closer to the election.
• How to Join: Email Geri Kahn at rov.solanocounty@gmail.com to RSVP and get the address.

📬 Can’t make it this Saturday? You can still help!
Come write with us at a future event! We have scheduled upcoming Saturday postcard parties from 2:00pm – 4:00pm on August 22 or September 26

o Locations: Parties will be held in Vallejo. Address provided upon RSVP!
o Want to host? If you’d like to host a party on a different date, let Geri know!
o Write from home: No problem! Email us, and we will prep a packet of postcards for you to pick up at Geri’s office so you can write from home.

Let’s make a difference!

In solidarity,
Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible

MORE: www.goodtroubleliveson.org.

GOOD TROUBLE WEEKEND – ALL OVER THE BAY AREA…

MORE 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.

GOOD TROUBLE EVENTS IN BENICIA IN RECENT YEARS…

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

Democracy under attack, Good Trouble, John Lewis, Local vigilance

PHOTOS: Benicia crowd of 350 made ‘good trouble’ at City Park

GOOD TROUBLE LIVES ON – in Benicia!

By Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent, July 20, 2025

 

Benicia Not My Presidents Day 2025. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)

 

A large crowd of Benicians & Vallejoans joined the nationwide protest honoring the late John R. Lewis and protesting the Trump administration.  On July 17, about 350 gathered around the Gazebo in City Park with creative signs, chants and cheers, good music, fabulous speakers, voter registration, a food drive – and even a bubble machine!

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

SLIDESHOW – scenes from the event…
[Many thanks to Benician Mary DeShaw of ProBonoPhoto.org for the photos.]

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The local action in Benicia was 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 gathered 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 was cosponsored by Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible, League of Women Voters Solano and the Vallejo-Benicia AAUW, along with organizers of  Benicia’s EVERY Thursday 5-6pm vigil for democracy.

Speakers included Rami Muth of League of Women Voters Solano; Dr. Tonia Lediju, Vallejo City Council; Kari Birdseye, Benicia City Council; Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast, Benicia Poet Laureate Emerita; and Helen-Marie ‘Cookie’ Gordon, Vallejo City Council.

Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent

It was a joyful but demanding crowd. 350 of us stood united in calling for an end to the Trump administration’s many moves to end our beautiful multicultural democracy.

Roger Straw
The Benicia Independent

Democracy under attack, Good Trouble, John Lewis, Local vigilance

Kari Birdseye – Good Trouble Lives On

City Councilmember Birdseye delivers a rousing and personal speech at “Good Trouble Lives On” rally in Benicia – honoring the late John R. Lewis and protesting the Trump administration

By Kari Birdseye, July 17, 2025 

Kari Birdseye, Benicia City Councilmember, Good Trouble Lives On, July 17, 2025 | Photo: Mary DeShaw, ProBonoPhoto.org

Friends and neighbors from Benica, Vallejo and beyond…

We gather today to honor a giant of the American conscience, a moral compass who guided us through turbulent waters: Congressman John Lewis. He famously said, “If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it.” These are not merely words; they are a call to action, a blueprint for a life lived with purpose and courage.

John Lewis understood that the fight for civil rights was not a single battle, but an ongoing struggle, a relay race where each generation must carry the torch forward. He bore witness to unspeakable brutality, yet he never succumbed to bitterness or despair. His life was a testament to the power of persistent advocacy, to the belief that “We are one people, one family. And we cannot turn against each other. We have to turn to each other.”

Today, as we reflect on his legacy, we must also confront the echoes of past injustices in our present reality. The civil rights we hold dear, the very foundations of equality, are once again under assault. We have seen a systematic dismantling of protections, particularly impacting reproductive rights and the broader spectrum of equality for all.

Under the current administration, we have witnessed a relentless chipping away at reproductive freedom. The overturning of Roe v. Wade was a devastating blow, stripping away a fundamental right that had been enshrined for decades. We see efforts to restrict access to essential healthcare, to dictate personal medical decisions, and to deny individuals autonomy over their own bodies.

John Lewis was my Congressman when I was compelled to take my first volunteer job in Atlanta Georgia for NARAL, the National Abortion Rights Action League, now called Reproduction Freedom for All.

Now this was in the early to mid-1990’s when anti-abortion zealots were bombing clinics and  pro-choice activists were combating increased restrictions on abortion access and defending the Roe v. Wade decision. In 1992 March for Women’s Lives drew hundreds of thousands to Washington D.C. to protest a Supreme Court case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, that was perceived as potentially overturning Roe v. Wade.

Well here we are, set back even farther today. This is not merely a legal debate; it is a profound civil rights issue, deeply connected to a woman’s right to control her destiny, her health, and her future.

As John Lewis said, “Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”

Beyond reproductive rights, the principles of equality for all have also faced significant challenges. We’ve seen attempts to roll back protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, to undermine diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and to create an environment where certain communities feel marginalized and threatened.

The very concept of “equal application” has been weaponized to justify discrimination, rather than to eradicate it. This is a betrayal of the ideals John Lewis fought so valiantly for. He believed in a beloved community, where “We must respect the dignity and worth of every human being.”

I had the honor and pleasure of shaking Congressman Lewis’ hand at an anti-gun violence rally in Vallejo in 2018, two years before we lost him. He was just as committed to good trouble then as he was when he was a key organizer and speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

So, what would John Lewis say to us today? I believe he would urge us to get into “good trouble, necessary trouble.” He would remind us that our “vote is precious, almost sacred,” – every single one of us. He would tell us not to be silent in the face of injustice, but to speak up, speak out, and make some noise.

The fight for civil rights is far from over. Let us carry his torch forward, ensuring that the promise of liberty and justice for all is not just a dream, but a lived reality for every single person in this nation.

Let us continue to strive for that more perfect union, where true equality reigns supreme. Let’s make some good trouble and some great noise. Thank you.