Showing posts with label resistance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resistance. Show all posts

Nathan Hale High School Student Racial Equity Team organizes protest in Lake City Saturday morning

Friday, May 29, 2020


Nathan Hale High School Student Racial Equity Team has organized a Bike/Car Protest Parade route through Lake City "to encourage our community to strive towards an antiracist mindset, to show our commitment to antiracist action and to demonstrate our solidarity with those who have been victims of racial injustice throughout our nation..."
Saturday May 30th; begin congregating in the Hale staff lot (spill over into the student parking lot if necessary) at 9:30am with the protest departing at 10:00am. 10750 30th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125

Route: from school we will drive north on Lake City Way, turn east (right) on 135th, south (right) on 35th, west (right) on 130th, and then south (left) on Lake City Way to return to school. 

We hope you can roll with us on Saturday. Bring your voice, your signs, and your commitment to justice for all people. Let’s make some noise. 

NOTE: We will be adhering to social distance guidelines during this event.



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Womxn’s March 2020: The Next Revolutionaries MOVED ONLINE

Saturday, March 7, 2020


In lieu of the traditional in-person Womxn’s March, the organizers of the Womxn’s March on Seattle are thrilled to present THE NEXT REVOLUTIONARIES--ONLINE! a live broadcast of speeches and performances from some of Seattle’s fiercest young social justice leaders. 

Nothing- not even Coronavirus- will keep us from sharing this day with our marchers.

Womxn’s March 2020: THE NEXT REVOLUTIONARIES--ONLINE!
1pm, Sunday, March 8, 2020

We will livestream on the following channels:

You’ll see performances from the Northside Drill and Step Team, hear the Black National Anthem, and watch a dance by Colectivo Las Cuchas. Our dynamic speakers will address issues such as this critical upcoming election, the climate crisis, racial and gender justice, freedom for immigrants, and more.

Speakers include Shorewood student Nara Kim, Outreach Director of Washington Youth Climate Strike and works locally in her city and school district to enact progressive change at every level and ensure that all movements, including Womxn’s March, are intersectional, justice-oriented, and fighting for all communities, not just the privileged.


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Risk/Benefit play reading Feb 23 and Feb 29 in Shoreline

Friday, February 21, 2020



Staged reading February 23, and February 29, 2020 at the Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church (SUUC) 14724 1st Ave NE, Shoreline 98155 of the political play Risk / Benefit by Amanda L. Aikman and directed by Carissa Misner Smit.

Would you be foolhardy enough to make a defiant gesture to a dictator? 
To her own shock, Helen, a risk-averse bureaucrat, finds herself doing just that. 
Immediately following her impulsive act of resistance, Helen's wife and son -- as well as her livelihood and freedom -- are severely threatened.

This fast-moving drama challenges audiences to ask themselves, "would I have the moral courage to risk everything for freedom?"

The message of this play is thought-provoking and relevant for our current political climate in the U.S. 

After the play there will be light snacks and discussion. 

Tickets $10, available online via Brown Paper Tickets and also sold at the door. 



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"Rally for the Trees" on Saturday Feb 8 at Noon

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Protestors along the street where all the
trees are at risk of being removed to meet
code requirements for sidewalk width
Photo courtesy Save Shoreline Trees


Almost 50 adults and children joined “Rally for the Trees” on Friday afternoon, February 7, 2020 along Dayton Ave N between N 155th and N 160th.

Some of the protestors at Friday's rally
Photo courtesy Save Shoreline Trees

Residents of Shoreline are asking the City to amend the WSDOT permit requirement that will cause the removal of 133 trees along Dayton Ave N, N 160th St, and N 155th St.

“Rally for the Trees” will take place again on Saturday, February 8 at Noon. All are welcome.

Bring your own sign or hold one of Save Shoreline Trees' signs.

Save Shoreline Trees is a Washington State Non-Profit Corporation dedicated to the preservation of tall trees in Shoreline.


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Lake Forest Park International Day of Action Saturday

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Lake Forest Park International Day of Action Saturday: No War With Iran!

Join CODEPINK and co-hosts Lake Forest Park for Peace, et al. across the world as we demand peace with Iran. 

Bring your sign and stand for peace.

January 25, 2020 at 11am - 12pm
Corner of Bothell Way NE (SR 522) and Ballinger Way NE (SR 104)
Lake Forest Park 98155
Email for more information or see the event page


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Impeachment rallies draw local crowds

Friday, December 20, 2019

Photo by Anna Satenstein

At 5:30 pm on December 17, 2019 on the eve of the impeachment vote in the House of Representatives, there were over 600 rallies in all 50 of the United States, under the banner of No One is Above the Law.

Photo by Anna Satenstein

If local events are any gauge, there were probably twice that many, as the official MoveOn site doesn't include all the local events that are being reported today on Facebook.

Photo by Anna Satenstein


According to the MoveOn.org site

Events will be visible, family-friendly, public gatherings to demonstrate to our lawmakers that their constituents are behind them to defend the Constitution — and that Trump has left them no alternative to uphold their oath of office but to support impeachment and removal.

Local residents attended rallies in Edmonds at Westgate, which reported the largest crowds. 

Others went to Lynnwood. 

The organizer of the Bothell rally is a Lake Forest Park resident, Hallie Condit, who said that it included people from LFP and Shoreline.

Hallie said,

"I was delighted that over 150 people turned out for our impeachment rally!

"The crowd and the cars driving by were very enthusiastic! 

"It was very noisy .... honking cars, and we were loudly chanting impeachment and anti Trump slogans.

"These smaller, local rallies are important. We are taking our message to where people live."




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Shorewood Amnesty group demonstrated on International Children's Day

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Shorewood Amnesty students on 185th overpass
Photo courtesy Shorewood Amnesty


On November 20, 2019 International Children's Day, Shorewood High School’s Amnesty International group demonstrated to demand action from policymakers and elected officials to end child detention, holding a banner drop at the 185th Street I-5 Overpass.

In a time of hate and violence, we, the youth, must be the voices of change and action.

Shorewood Amnesty International  swamnestyinternational@gmail.com


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Shorewood Amnesty group to protest Child Detention with banner drop over I-5

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Shorewood Amnesty banner drop at Shoreline
City Hall
Photo courtesy Shorewood Amnesty


Universal Children’s Day - Banner Drop - November 20 


On November 20, 2019 from 4 - 6pm, Shorewood High School’s Shorewood Amnesty International will lead a demonstration of local youth, parents, and community supporters to demand action from policymakers and elected officials to end child detention. 

“Regardless of their migrant status, everyone deserves basic human rights and all families belong together and free” (Sofia Gerrard, President of Shorewood Amnesty International).

There will be a banner drop at the 185th Street I-5 Overpass to make a statement and urge legislators to take action. In a time of hate and violence, we, the youth, must be the voices of change and action.

Shorewood Amnesty International is a youth-led chapter of Amnesty International 

Follow them on Instagram: @swamnestyinternational

Shorewood Amnesty International: swamnestyinternational@gmail.com



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Climate strike brings out Shoreline / LFP students and adults to march

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The head of the march - coming from Log Boom Park
on the Burke Gilman Trail
Photo by s cho


By Diane Hettrick

The website 350.org is "an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all."

350.org said that today's Climate Strike was "the biggest distributed climate mobilisation ever seen. Organizers estimate that over four million people took to the streets today, kicking off a week of actions in which more than 5,800 events will take place in 163 countries in all corners of the globe."

They stopped on both sides of Bothell Way
to wave signs at motorists
Photo by s cho

Friday's strike was youth-led. Climate change is one of the biggest issues for youth. They are paying attention to the scientists' warnings about what human action and inaction are doing to the planet and are all too aware that global leaders are doing very little to stop the damage. They see their future and they don't like it.

Crossing Bothell Way NE
Photo by s cho


So Friday they took to the streets.

They spread out a bit, going up the hills in LFP
Photo by s cho


In Lake Forest Park and Shoreline students and adults marched from Log Boom Park in Kenmore, down the Burke Gilman Trail in Lake Forest Park, across towns to Shoreline City Hall and Shorewood High School, then continued down Richmond Beach Road to RB Saltwater Park.

They carried signs that said "We are running out of time" "There is no Planet B" "The water is rising - and so are we" "Think or swim" "Science is not a liberal conspiracy"

By the time they got to Shoreline City Hall,
they had picked up a fair amount of trash
Photo by Todd Staheli

And they carried garbage bags and picked up trash along the way.

They are in their teens now and at 18 they will be able to vote. If all the millions who marched today also vote, they may be able to change their future for the better.

Students at the finish line after an
eight mile march across two cities
Photo by Todd Staheli


Gov. Jay Inslee, whose presidential campaign was successful in getting climate change on the radar of every Democratic candidate, said,
"People ask me why I’m still optimistic we can defeat the climate crisis. It’s because of days like today."



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The politics of poverty are personal for north Seattle couple

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Jay and Christine Stickler brought their
daughter's baby shirt to add to Margaret
Hartley's art installation in LFP Sunday
Photo by Luanne Brown

By Luanne Brown

The politics of poverty turned personal for Jay and Christine Stickler, currently of Wallingford, when they adopted their daughter Ana, now 36, while living and teaching in Honduras.


As part of artist Margaret Hartley’s “Compassionate Clothesline” art piece, installed at the site of the Lake Forest protest on September 1, Christine hung up a baby shirt their daughter wore as an infant. 

“We adopted her while living and teaching in the Honduras. Ever since that time we’ve been intensely connected to what’s going on there and have been saddened and horrified by the turn of events in the last years,” Christine Stickler said.

“I have lot of personal feelings about Honduras,” her husband Jay added. “It’s become a horror show there. And now it’s a horror show for people leaving there and seeking refuge in the U.S. It’s beyond belief what we’re doing to them. 


"I hope there will be a turning point but there must be a different political will at the highest echelons. I don’t think there is much listening, much compassion for people’s lives at that level. Unfortunately, there are so many hellacious things going on in the world that we’re becoming hardened to people’s pain.”

“I thought it would be powerful today to bring that shirt for Margaret’s art piece. Like Ana says, ‘I was lucky and found family to love and take care of me.’ That is not true for everyone," said Christine. "Placing Ana’s baby shirt on Margaret’s clothesline was a very personnel experience for my husband, Jay and I.”

Currently, Honduras is rated as the 24th most impoverished nation in the world with a purchasing power per person of USD ($)2909.249 per person, according to FocusEconomics. The 2019 World Report says, “Violent crime is rampant in Honduras. Despite a downward trend in recent years, the murder rate remains among the highest in the world.” On the U.S. State Department website it says, “an estimated one million Hondurans reside in the United States, approximately 600,000 of whom are believed to be undocumented.”




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Shoreline artist Margaret Hartley compassionate ‘pop-up’ protest art in LFP

Pop-up art installation by Margaret Hartley


Text and photos by Luanne Brown

Shoreline artist Margaret Hartley installed a piece of protest art for the duration of the Sunday, September 1, 2019 protest at the corner of Ballinger Way and Bothell Way NE (SR 522). 

On a clothesline stretched between two trees, she hung baby clothes, interspersed with signs that said, “Kids need their families,” Keep families together,” “End abuse at the border,” “No more deaths.” 

“This is called a compassionate clothesline and this piece is meant to connect us to the refugee families and children who are being separated and detained for political reasons,” she said. “The point of this piece is to humanize this whole issue.”

In her work as a collage artist, the clothesline has become a metaphor for connecting ideas and tying the ‘everyday’ world of domestic tasks to larger scale, society-wide ideas and ideals that connect us all. 

In her own life the clothesline serves many purposes. “I am a mother who washed a lot of diapers and hung them on clothesline when we lived in New Zealand. 



"I use the clothesline a lot in the imagery of my work. I even string my collages on a clothesline,” she said.

To Hartley, “The clothesline is your home. It’s those domestic things we do that support our family and it’s the thing that is lacking for these refugees who aren’t allowed to wash or have clean clothes. It’s the disruption of simple everyday domestic tasks that we all share no matter where we come from.”

As a mother of four, Hartley says, “ When I look at my children’s little baby clothes, I just imagine how would I feel if I had my children taken away and I didn’t know where they were. That is an inhumane thing to do to families.” 

Shoreline artist Margaret Hartley
at the protest site in LFP


Hartley has been doing art since she was a child and used to work as as a cartoonist for newspapers. Currently, she teaches for Seattle Pacific but has also taught K-12. 

Her current classroom responsibilities involve helping teachers who will be using art in their classroom as a communication tool. She is also a docent at the Seattle Art Museum.

Hartley participated in the Lake Forest Park protest on August 25 and was inspired to do her “Compassionate Clothesline” based on the protest banner she prepared from a child’s dress for that event.

“The way to make this (separating refugee families and detaining children) to stop is for people to come out and show that this is not okay. 

"We need to be making a real loud noise and I don’t think we are,” Hartley said.



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Luanne Brown: Protest the confinement of children and other national disgraces, Sunday, September 1 in LFP

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Protesters in Lake Forest Park



Text and photos by Luanne Brown

You are invited to join protesters today (Sunday) at the corner of Ballinger Way and Bothell Way NE (SR 522) in Lake Forest Park from 10am to 11am.

Christine Stickler of Wallingford
and Elizabeth Simmons O’Neill of LFP

Last Sunday, residents from Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, North Seattle, Mountlake Terrace, and other locations joined together to raise their voices and signs against deliberate acts of cruelty taken by Donald J. Trump and his White House toward refugee children and families fleeing danger in their home country.

Holly Buckmaster of Mountlake Terrace said, “We are literally imitating Germany in the early 1930s and I asked myself, who would I be in that situation. So, this is who I’d be. 

"This is not okay. Do you ever hear anyone saying that kids in cages is a good idea? No. Because it’s not. ”

Marti of Lake Forest Park said, “The latest administration outrage — holding families until their cases are resolved — was the last straw for me. I’ve reached my tipping point.” 

Emily and daughter Cedella
from Shoreline
Emily from Shoreline brought her daughter, Cedella, 10, who attends Briarcrest Elementary. “My mom told me about it. At first, I didn’t really understand, but when I did, it made me upset.”

Pam works in schools as a nurse and lives in North Seattle. “We are setting our country up for sad times. I really admire Jesus and what he’s done for me in my life. He said, Love your neighbor as yourself and so many other things about taking care about each other. 

"This country was built on taking on people who needed shelter. The food is rotting in our fields and the wonderful people who help our economy are huddled in fear. 

"People seeking asylum from torture and murder are the result of actions our country has taken against them. We are in the wrong place in history and we are not pleasing the Divine.” 

Beth from LFP

Christine Stickler from Wallingford works at the University of Washington. “I have a sense of horror at what’s going on and a great frustration. I wanted to do something with kindred spirits.”  

Elizabeth Simmons O’Neill of LFP, with her children and grandchildren around her said, 

“There are kids in cages. We are violating international human rights law. We are violating state’s rights. This issue really hits me.”

Margaret Hartley of Shoreline said, “Children are being incarcerated. That’s why I’m here.”

John from Lake Forest Park said, “This is home ground. I just can’t abide the policy at the border. The human cost of it is so obvious.”

Lael from Mountlake Terrace
Lael White said, “My sign says ‘Honk for Asylum’. I want Americans to understand that these people who are coming here to seek asylum are not criminals. They are escaping crime and devastation in their own country. They are seeking help and I think a lot of Americans don’t understand that.”

In other news this week, the White House issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring that September was National Childhood Cancer Aware month, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) eliminated a “deferred action” program this month that had “allowed immigrants to “avoid deportation while they or their relatives were undergoing lifesaving medical treatment,” according to an article published in the New York Times on August 29, 2019.


Pam of North Seattle

Over 1000 children face severe consequences, in some cases even possible death, because they won’t have the critical medical treatment they need to survive in their home countries. The letter they received from the Immigration Service stated that they had 33 days to leave the country or face deportation.

It was also reported this week that girls in detention centers who were menstruating were not offered adequate sanitary products and were being “forced to bleed through their underwear.” Are we not a better country than this?

Please join us Sunday in making our voices heard.



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Op-Ed: Protest child detention Sunday, August 25 from 10:00am to 11:00am

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Protest in Lake Forest Park
Photo by Luanne Brown


By Luanne Brown

For the past several weeks, a small group of people have been gathering at the corner of Ballinger Way and Bothell Way NE (SR 522) with signs to protest the separation of children from their families at the U.S. Mexico border.

Participants object not only to the separation and incarceration of asylum-seekers, but to their reported treatment by government-funded private facilities where they are said to be held in squalid conditions without adequate nutrition, hygiene, physical, and emotional safety. 

These neglectful conditions have resulted in the deaths of several children. And the cruelty toward these dependents grows harsher by the day as the Trump administration rips screaming babies from their mothers’ arms, threatens longer detainments, and claims they will not vaccinate detained children in border detention facilities during the coming flu season.

Attendees of last week’s protest included concerned citizens from Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, and Woodinville and surrounding suburbs. 

Charles Anstett, an activist from Lake Forest Park and one of the organizers, said “We are protesting because we think the separating children from their parents and detaining them by locking them in cages is immoral. All Americans of good conscience need to stand up and speak out.”

Another activist, Lael White of Mountlake Terrace said she came because, "I want people to think about how our government is conducting severely inhumane treatment of innocent people at our border, families who are seeking asylum."

Doug Margeson, of Woodinville, brought his American flag to the protest. “I just came to support the cause. It’s not right to separate families,” he said.

Linda Baarslag-Benson of Lake Forest Park, who attended the protest with her husband Ross Baarslag-Benson, said “We have been shocked and sickened by the news of this inhumane treatment of immigrant children at our border and felt a strong call to action ourselves. We set out to do our own weekly vigil in Lake Forest Park. 

"Our goal is to bear witness to this dark time in our country and to highlight this truth, that ALL children are OUR children.”

House guests, of the Baarslag-Bensons,’ Bobbi Crane and Tom Arvidson from Missoula, Montana joined their hosts at the protest. According to Crane, “We don’t get too many opportunities to protest in Montana, so we welcomed the opportunity to support this effort.”

If you believe that it’s wrong to crush young lives with such cruelty, join us next Sunday. Let the world know that the north-end residents have had enough and demand kinder, more compassionate treatment that reunites families, not separates them.

Protests are planned every Sunday for the indefinite future.

10am to 11am
At the corner of Ballinger Way and Bothell Way NE (SR 522)



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Resistance in the age of Trump - Roy Zimmerman, Satirist Songwriter, in concert Apr 6

Sunday, March 24, 2019




Roy Zimmerman, Satirist Songwriter, in concert at Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation (EUUC) on April 6, 7:30pm. He will include material from his latest album RiZe Up, his tenth album as a solo artist. It is a funny and forceful expression of resistance in the age of Trump.

“Satire empowers people,” says Roy. “To laugh is to fight back. To hope is to fight back. . . . Sometimes I think satire is the most hopeful and heartfelt form of expression. . . . I'm affirming the real possibility for change.”

Tickets are available at the door or at Brown Paper Tickets Brown Paper Tickets and cost $20 for adults, $12 for youth, children under 12 are free.

EUUC is located at 8109 224th St SW, Edmonds 98026. Info: 425-778-0373.



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Three day weekend of activism Jan 19-21 Womxn’s March on Seattle

Sunday, January 13, 2019


Womxn’s March on Seattle anniversary events January 19 -20; MLK March and Day of Service January 21

On the third anniversary of the Womxn’s March on Seattle, organizers have planned three days of activism, including rallies, marches, workshops, lectures, panel discussions, and more.

The events on January 19 and 20 are being organized by Seattle Womxn Marching Forward, the Seattle chapter of the Women’s March. These womxn organized the Womxn’s March on Seattle in January of 2017 and last year’s official anniversary event, Womxn Act on Seattle.

Events on January 21 are organized by the Martin Luther King Day Organizing Coalition. Both organizing groups have worked collaboratively to build positive, complementary events.

January 19: Womxn’s March on Seattle 2019: Building Power
  • 9 a.m. rally at Cal Anderson Park
  • 10:30 a.m. Womxn’s March from Cal Anderson to Seattle Center
  • 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Seattle Center events
January 20: Womxn’s March Day of Action
  • 9:30 a.m. start time for Womxn’s March Day of Action and Food Drive, taking place at Hubs around the city
  • 2 p.m. MLK Day Kickoff Youth Celebration Hip Hop Party at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center
  • 4 p.m. deadline to drop off Food Lifeline donations at Hubs
January 21: Martin Luther King Day
  • 8:30 a.m. start time for events celebrating MLK Day at Garfield High School
  • 12:30 p.m. Womxn’s March contingent joins MLK Day March in progress at 22nd and Jackson 
Womxn’s March on Seattle 2019: Building Power
The anniversary weekend programming kicks off on January 19 with a 9 a.m. rally at Cal Anderson Park.

The Womxn’s March will start immediately following the rally between 10 – 10:30 a.m. In keeping with the last two years, the march will be led by Indigenous womxn. The route will take marchers from Cal Anderson Park to Seattle Center. A detailed march route will be published the week before the march and sanctioned entry and exit points will be published as soon as they are identified.

As they arrive at Seattle Center, Seattle Womxn Marching Forward has organized nearly a dozen panels led by speakers from diverse and dedicated communities. Topics include: #MeToo, homelessness, youth activism, womxn of color candidates, personal stories of indigenous womxn, disability justice, womxn's health, immigrants and refugees, art in activism, and trans advocacy.

Events at Seattle Center begin at 11:30 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. Details about panel locations and exact timing will be published on the Seattle Womxn Marching Forward website and in Real Change newspapers.

Womxn’s March Day of Action
On Sunday, January 20, Seattle Womxn Marching Forward presents the second annual Womxn’s March Day of Action, a day of learning, educating, healing, and community-building in neighborhoods all around the city. 

Currently, programming is planned at the following five hub locations. Programming details are not yet finalized, and more locations may be added.
  • Phinney Neighborhood Association
  • The Riveter Capitol Hill
  • Plymouth Church Seattle
  • Casa Latina
  • Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
At each of these events, local leaders, teachers, and activists will share their expertise with attendees seeking to make new connections, uncover new truths, and deepen their understanding of marginalized communities and systemic oppression.

Partnerships for Building Power

Seattle Womxn Marching Forward is partnering closely with a number of nonprofits and grassroots groups on the anniversary weekend. Recognizing early in the planning process that the Womxn’s March anniversary would fall on Martin Luther King Day weekend, Seattle Womxn Marching Forward reached out to the organizing committee for the MLK Day events. Both teams have worked in close collaboration and will offer complementary programming.

For the second year in a row, Seattle Womxn Marching Forward will partner with Food Lifeline and Seattle Indivisible to collect food and sundries at Hub locations on January 20. Please bring your non-perishable goods to each Hub by 4 p.m. Last year, Hub attendees donated almost one metric ton of food.

A detailed schedule of all the Womxn’s March and MLK Day events will be published in the January 16th edition of Real Change. These newspapers will be available to purchase from every Real Change vendor one week prior to the march. Vendors will also attend the march. Programming details also will be available online.

Since 2017 Seattle Womxn Marching Forward has organized several major events, including the volunteer-centered Community Convergence and last year's Womxn Act on Seattle,. They work with local, regional, and national coalitions to bring attention and awareness to issues of iniquity and injustice. Seattle Womxn Marching Forward is fiscally sponsored by Seattle-based nonprofit, Reel Grrls.



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Honk if you love justice

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

From left, Tina, Linda, Judy, and two blind justices
protest the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court


Over 50 members of the local Resistance group spent Sunday afternoon on the 195th pedestrian bridge in Shoreline on Sunday, August 26, 2018.

They held signs urging motorists to contact their congresspeople to keep Brett Kavanaugh off the U.S. Supreme Court.



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Photos from California

Monday, July 2, 2018


Shoreline Area News reader Kean Engie writes that he and his wife are visiting their daughter in Redwood City, California.


He sent in a short video that he took of the Resistance march in Redwood City. These are a couple of images from his video.


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Protestors in Edmonds make their voices heard

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Kate Quinn, former immigration attorney

Text and photos by Luanne Brown

Today, in Edmonds, almost 600 people gathered at the intersection of Edmonds Way and 100th Ave West to protest the Trump administration’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ immigration policies and the separation of children from their families. Although that policy has supposedly been rescinded by a presidential executive order, there does not at this time seem to be a cohesive plan to reunite children with parents.

Sarah Roskam, Broadview
Lining the sidewalks on all four corners, many participants held up homemade signs with a variety of expressions, including ‘Amber Alert, ICE taking children’, ‘Which side of History are YOU on?’, ‘Yes, Melania, we do.’

They waved to the cars that passed by and cars waved back or honked their support. One exception was a large white Humvee with a Trump sticker on the back. The passenger in the car, a female, yelled an expletive as the car drove past the crowd. 

Generally made up of the over-50 crowd, there were some people in wheelchairs and with walkers. Parents brought younger children, too. Some people had tears streaming down their faces. This gathering was part of today’s nation-wide “Families Belong Together” protest.

Jillian Yuhas, Lynnwood
Here are quotes from some of the people who attended.

Linda Murtfeldt, Seattle

“Trump’s actions are immoral to the kids and families affected. It’s crazy to say we don’t want immigrants in our country.”

Sarah Roskam, Broadview

“I didn’t protest in the 60’s and 70’s, but I’m speaking up now. I grew up evangelical and I am mortified by what the church is standing for. Jesus would not tolerate what we are doing. We must stand up for what is right.” 

Geronimo Whitaker, Edmonds
Geronimo Whitaker, Edmonds

“I am the second generation of my family to serve our country. My grandfather was a Tuskegee Airman. That’s part of why I feel so strongly that what is happening in our country is wrong. First and foremost, as a Vietnam vet, I swore to protect the Constitution. I took a step forward to do that and I’m not stepping back. It’s my duty to protest. That’s why I’m here.” Whitaker was part of the Winter Soldiers protest in 1971 where Vietnam Veterans Against the War put the spotlight on war crimes committed by the US military in Vietnam.

Dorothy Harrison, Edmonds
Dorothy Harrison, Edmonds

“Trump is a fascist and an illegal president. Most of us are immigrants. My mother was a war bride. I was born in a farmhouse in England. I have six kids, nine grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. I’m here for them.”

Jillian Yuhas, Lynnwood

“My sign has an Amish proverb on it. 'Instead of putting others in their place put yourself in their place.' The lack of empathy and compassion in our government in general is appalling. The environment, the economy—it’s all about taking and not giving. It’s about greed. We need a severe pendulum swing. I’m counting on the millennials to save us. They are all about inclusion. Their minimalistic, social, and they care about the environment.”

Leslie Keenan, Edmonds

“I am here to mourn the death of Liberty in our country. We have to get out and vote. We have to be insistent about making noise. The Vietnam War protests ended the war. We must protest until we are sure Liberty lives”. 

Phil and Peri DiCrescentis, Edmonds
Ron and Sharon Thomas, Edmonds

“It’s just too much when we start holding kids hostage for a stupid fence. We’re finding it hard to live our lives every day. I’m am tired of crying. That doesn’t do any good. That’s why Ron and I came here today.”

 Phil and Peri DiCrescentis, Edmonds

“We came because of the babies. They are separated from their parents and it doesn’t look like the administration is doing anything to get them back together. It’s heartbreaking and it’s not who we are.”

Peter Kahle, North Seattle

“When I first got here, I wept. That I’m holding this sign ('OHANA - Save the families') in America is too much." 

Linda Russell, Edmonds

“I’m here for my grandson, Owen. He’s six and has autism. He told me, ‘Grandma, why don’t we just deport Trump.”

Susan Cyr, Interfaith Minister

Susan Cyr, Interfaith Minister (non-Christian), Psychotherapist

“I didn’t bring a sign because there are too many issues to protest. Seeking asylum is not a crime. Blocking entrance to our country should be. I am furious and have been this way since Trump was elected.” Her prescription? “Vote! We must end Citizens United.”

Kate Quinn, former immigrant attorney, Lynnwood

“It’s important that people can come to our country and claim asylum. Stopping families before they can even claim asylum is wrong.

"So is having children represent themselves in court. But that has been going on here for a long time. It’s good for people to become aware of this problem so we can do something about it.”



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