Protests are not a break from the American tradition; they are a part of it. From the earliest days of the republic, citizens have raised their voices in public spaces when our nation’s actions have fallen short of its ideals. Protests force uncomfortable truths into the open and push our government, and our society, toward change.

Each protest carries its own distinct character, shaped by the depth of injustice people feel and the urgency that drives them into the streets.  The nationwide protests erupting in response to the Trump administration’s immigration policies, the actions of ICE officers, including the deaths of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and others who have died in ICE custody, as well as the Iran war, are not merely moments of civil unrest. They are a profound rupture in the American conscience. Each new tragedy deepens our collective divide, forcing our country to confront the human cost of its policies and the moral crisis they have generated.   

We are witnessing a nation being pulled apart by policies that have turned vulnerability into a crime, suffering into a spectacle, and human lives into collateral damage. The outrage in the streets is a desperate attempt to reclaim the values we claim to stand for, before the fabric of the country is ripped apart. 

In a different arena, outrage over the mishandled release of the Epstein files has exploded into a nationwide reckoning. The public, the press, and leaders are demanding truth and rattling the foundations of our government.    

Over the past year, the three No Kings protests against the policies of the  Trump administration have been the largest protests ever recorded on American soil.  Last June, the first protest drew an estimated 5 million people. The second protest drew an estimated 7 million people while the third No Kings in March drew over 8 million people in 3,300 cities. Lenawee Indivisible is the local sponsor of the No Kings protests. Those protests in Adrian drew an estimated 700 to 800 people each. 

The American people’s outcry for a more perfect union, demanding justice and securing the blessings of liberty for all, has erupted again and again throughout history, demanding action from those who would rather look away:

• The Boston Tea Party helped spur the American Revolution.
• Labor strikes against deadly working conditions led to the establishment of the AFL-CIO, improving workplaces for everyone.
• Early 20th-century suffrage protests led to the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.
• Years of activism and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s leadership resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts.
• Anti-Vietnam War protests in the ’60s and ’70s helped end a brutal conflict.
• The 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd triggered nationwide proposals for policing reform.

The story of protests in the United States is really the story of a nation arguing with itself about who it wants to be. A protest doesn’t guarantee progress, but it does create the condition in which progress becomes possible — by insisting that the voices of the people be heard, by demanding accountability from those in power, and by reminding the country that democracy is not a spectator sport but a way of life, renewed each time people choose to stand together and say, “We will not be silenced.”   

Mitch Myers is a resident of Adrian.