Lucio Vasquez/The Texas Newsroom
“Good Trouble Lives On” protests in the Houston area are scheduled to correspond with nationwide demonstrations Thursday in opposition of President Donald Trump and his policies.
What does “Good Trouble Lives On” mean?
The “Good Trouble Lives On” demonstrations take their name from the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights activist who said on multiple occasions that “good trouble, necessary trouble” is sometimes needed in order to achieve change.
Lewis was one of the original Freedom Riders who protested segregated seating on buses in the Jim Crow South during the 1960s. Lewis also participated in the 1963 March on Washington and was among the peaceful protesters beaten by police in 1965 while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
The protests scheduled for Thursday, July 17, will coincide with the fifth anniversary of Lewis’s death in 2020 at age 80, due to advanced-stage pancreatic cancer.
What issues are protestors planning to demonstrate against?
According to the national organizers’ website, the hundreds of planned demonstrations will be against what they describe as the “attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration.”
The organizers said the protests have been planned by a coalition of dozens of local and national activist groups, including the League of Women Voters, Black Lives Matter and the Houston Area Urban League.
“A core principle behind all Good Trouble Lives On events is a commitment to nonviolent action,” the organizers’ website states. “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.”
The Good Trouble Lives On protests will be the third time this year that Houston-area residents participate in nationwide protests against the Trump administration.
RELATED: ‘No Kings’ protests: Thousands gather throughout Houston area to oppose Trump administration
In June, more than 60 “No Kings Day” rallies were held across Texas. Two months earlier, more than 1,000 people gathered at Houston City Hall for the nationwide “50501” demonstrations.
Planned “Good Trouble Lives On” demonstrations in Houston:
Good Trouble Lives On in Houston: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday at Houston City Hall
- This demonstration will consist of a march from Houston City Hall to Discovery Green and back.
Good Trouble Lives On: Fight for HISD’s Future: 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday at 3302 Canal St. in Houston
- This protest will be against what the organizers are calling “attacks” on public education at the national and state levels.
The Trump administration has made wide-ranging cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Supreme Court this week allowed the president to lay off nearly 1,400 Department of Education employees.
During the 89th session of the Texas Legislature, Gov. Greg Abbott succeeded in lawmakers’ passage of a controversial school voucher-like program, which allows parents to use state funds for private education costs.
In 2023, the Texas Education Agency took control of Houston ISD because of a consistently underperforming high school, stripping the locally elected school board of its power and installing a state-appointed board of managers and new superintendent. Last month, the board of managers approved a five-year contract extension for Superintendent Mike Miles and gave him a $82,000 raise.
Other planned Houston-area demonstrations:
Good Trouble Lives on Katy: 5-6 p.m. Thursday at Interstate 10 at Katy Fort Bend Road in Katy
Good Trouble Lives On Sugar Land: 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday at Sugar Land Town Square
Good Trouble Lives On Montgomery County: 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday at North Shore Park in The Woodlands
Good Trouble Lives On Clear Lake: 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday at Bay Area Community Center in Seabrook
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