WINONA, Minn. – Hundreds of people rallied peacefully in a twilight demonstration at Windom Park against President Trump’s ethnic cleansing and deportation project. Poignant posters also objected to Trump initiatives to deprive poor people of healthcare. As protesters mulled around the square-block park, provocateurs in a white pickup truck circled with a siren blaring. In response the demonstrators broke into choruses of “We Shall Overcome” in the spirit of civil rights crusader John Lewis, who opted in the 1960s for passive resistance. The rally was among 1,600 nationwide to honor Lewis on the fifth anniversary of his death at age 80. Although impossible to measure precisely, the turnout nationwide was in the millions. There was no visible police presence at Winona’s Windom Park, although there were tense moments about 6:30 p.m. when police vehicles from several directions converged with sirens out of sight two blocks away on West Broadway Street between Grand and Sioux streets. The incident, apparently unrelated to the demonstration, was un-noted in the daily police news briefing the next morning. Despite the ruckus down the street, speakers at the rally continued taking their turns at the microphone. These included a 15-year-old young man who told how his mother in Australia was viewing the deteriorating U.S. political situation. Another speaker tearfully asked the crowd to pray for a cousin who had disappeared after being taken by Trump deportation agents. Another speaker, born and raised in Wisconsin, said she and her husband were political refugees who moved to Minnesota to escape the continual harassment and property vandalism of a right-wing neighbor. A senior citizen led the crowd in yet again a chorus of “We Shall Overcome”. Motorists passing the park at the busy Broadway and Huff intersection showed thumbs up and honked support. The exception was the white pickup with its siren.
Showing his colors. Was Betsy Ross his tailor? Despite the rally’s serious theme, an undertone was like a neighborly congregation of like-minded and deeply concerned citizens. Images: Andy Frank
Notable for their absence: Congressman Brad Finstad, State Senator Jeremy Miller, and State Representatives Aaron Repinski and Steve Jacob. All Republicans with Finstad the most prominent as a Trump toady.
