Organizers plan to unveil signs with pro-voting messages across several highway overpasses Thursday in Hampton Roads as part of nationwide demonstrations honoring Civil Rights Movement icon and former U.S. Rep. John Lewis.
The events, called Good Trouble Lives On — after one of Lewis’ signature quotes — are planned for several cities in Hampton Roads, according to organizers and a map of protest locations. July 17 is the fifth anniversary of Lewis’ death.
From 6 to 9 a.m., attendees will be displaying signs along several highway overpasses, said organizer Pete Woodhead. He declined to reveal the locations due to safety concerns, adding that the signs would also be displayed during the afternoon rush hour from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Woodhead said the signs would display pro-voting messages in honor of Lewis, who was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s. A bill aimed named after Lewis aimed at restoring and strengthening the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was introduced in Congress.
“We’re feeling like we’re heading into something dark with the authoritarian tactics of the current administration, and we are doing our best to resist,” Woodhead said, referencing President Donald Trump’s administration.
Additional events Thursday include a 6 p.m. panel discussion on the topics of health care and voting rights at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library in Virginia Beach. The city’s district-based election system will be discussed. Other events include a noon gathering outside the Suffolk courthouse, a 6 p.m. protest and rally at the Williamsburg/James City County courthouse and a 7:30 p.m. candlelight vigil at The Great Awakening United Church of Christ in Portsmouth.
For more information about the protests, visit goodtroubleliveson.org.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, [email protected]
