Good Trouble

Even in the dog days of summer, hundreds showed up Thursday to protest against the policies of the Trump administration.  

The “Good Trouble Lives On” rally, held Thursday evening at the Collier County Government Center, brought out a cadre of dedicated – and year-round – residents. The event was held on the fifth anniversary of the death of U.S. Representative John Lewis, who coined the phrase “good trouble” to express the need for citizens to protest against government injustices. The Collier rally was part of a nationwide effort, with over 50 events in various Florida cities, and more than 1,500 protests across the country.  

Lewis, well before being elected to Congress, put himself in harm’s way as a leader in the civil rights movement, being attacked by state troopers with batons and dogs when he led protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in what came to be called “Bloody Sunday.” One of the 13 original Freedom Riders in 1961, Lewis was arrested and jailed many times for his activism. Back on the Edmund Pettus Bridge as a Congressman in 2020, just months before his death, he repeated his call: “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America,” he urged.  

The 300 or so attending the rally in East Naples on Thursday didn’t have to brave danger or violence from authorities as Lewis did back in the day. As the event commenced on the courthouse steps, just across from the Collier Sheriff’s headquarters, law enforcement was on hand, but just to keep everyone safe and out of the road when the protesters marched the short distance to US 41 to engage with passing motorists.  

Attendees heard from Dr. John Newton, vice president of the Collier NAACP, and Congressional candidate Howard Sapp, competing to run in District 19, currently served by Byron Donalds, who has initiated a run for governor. Their remarks, as well as a reading of John Lewis’ last public talk by 18-year-old Holden Manning, were emceed by Collier Democrats chair and Marco Island resident Jane Schlechtweg.  

“Today, we honor the life and legacy of Congressman John Lewis, a man who knew how to stand up and make good trouble. John Lewis didn’t wait for someone else to act. He put his body on the line,” said Schlechtweg. “Let’s make some good trouble together tonight.” 

Newton, a longtime educator, helped whip up the crowd’s enthusiasm, employing a call-and-response technique. “Are you all Americans? Do you believe in freedom?” he asked. “John Lewis believed in freedom for all people. Are you fired up? Make your voices heard. Go home and tell a neighbor.” 

Sapp, a minister, a retired air traffic controller, a father and grandfather, was even more enthusiastic in pumping up his listeners.  

“I’m standing here for our freedoms – for our rights – all the things they are trying to take away,” he said. After the brief speeches, the hundreds of attendees marched through the government center to stand along US 41, holding up a multitude of homemade signs expressing their many disagreements with current government policies. There were a few expletives and birds flipped from passing vehicles, but passersby in their cars who responded to the group appeared overwhelmingly supportive, with waves, high fives, and a solid cacophony of honking horns.  

The demonstrators, as urged by their organizers, were peaceful and courteous.  

Protesters highlighted many specific issues, including Medicare, Social Security, tariffs, high and rising prices, policy toward Ukraine and Russia, wholesale layoffs of government workers, presidential corruption and lies, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and Donald Trump’s vacillating responses to releasing information about convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But the overriding or underlying issue for many attendees was concern for democracy itself.  

“I feel like I’m complicit if I put up with this injustice,” said activist Eileen Arsenault of Naples.  

“I’m pro-democracy. I’m pretty upset about what’s going on across the nation, and even in Florida,” said Rosemary Christie. “I’m pro-ecology, pro-Native American, pro-immigrant, and pro-due process.”  

Warren Keller expressed himself with a chicken suit and a sign reading “One taco to go,” referencing the “Trump always chickens out” meme regarding tariffs.  

“I’m 74 years old. I’m watching my country die before I do,” he said. “I have a grandson. I won’t stand for this.” As a bonus, his shirt proclaimed “#MAGA – Mexicans always get across.”  

Moira Dana also had a double-barreled message, with a sign urging “make good trouble,” and a shirt reading “make lying wrong again.” Other attendees’ shirts proclaimed the body of water we live on is still the Gulf of Mexico.  

Many people let their signs do the talking. Messages included “Are we great yet? ’Cause I’m just embarrassed.” “Freedom for everyone.” “I want my PBS.” “Civil rights DEMAND good trouble.” “Congress! Stop enabling a felon.” “Freedom, not fascism.” “Dismantle the oligarchy.” “First they came for the migrants…” And “This is not the America I fought for,” carried by a Marine veteran in a wheelchair. 

Members of the Collier County Democrats, including Lisa Marvel and Katie McNutt, circulated among the protestors, spreading the word that after the last general election, all vote by mail information was purged from the voter rolls, and anyone who wants to take advantage of what used to be called absentee voting must re-register with the county, at . 

The Collier “Good Trouble Lives On” also included a food drive, with close to 1,000 lbs. of canned goods and other food items collected and distributed to Faith Lutheran Church and the First Haitian Baptist Church, said Schlechtweg.