In an effort to maintain momentum just two weeks after an anti-Trump protest drew a crowd of more than 600 people in Cortez, the local League of Women Voters is sponsoring yet another protest this Saturday, April 19.
It’s an offshoot of a national protest organized by a group called 50501, which stands for “50 protests, 50 states, one movement.”
Those attending the one in Cortez are asked to bring food for the local pantry, nonperishable items, or clean, warm clothes to support unhoused people in the park.
“We had 600 at our last event; let’s top it at this one!” an email from the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County reads.
At 11 a.m., community members are invited to assemble at the Welcome Center in Cortez and to bring signs expressing whatever is “most concerning to them, whether it be public land or what’s happening to our Medicaid,” to name a few concerns that Karen Sheek, the president of the local League of Women Voters, mentioned.
From there, protesters will march “end to end” on Main Street, said Sheek.
Dodd said it’s a chance to come together peacefully, and noted how cities and towns across America are gearing up for another National Day of Protest on Saturday in a more “individualized” way than the “Hands Off!” protest on April 5.
“It shows solidarity in a way that fits towns best,” Dodd said. “Each one has its own take on it.”
Some places are using the upcoming protest as an extension of “Hands Off!,” while others are calling it a “Tesla Takedown” or a “Day of Action.”
Other towns are tying their demonstrations to Earth Day, and others still are incorporating the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, as April 19 marks the start of the war with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Dodd said the “hope” is that it’s “one hour of chanting and solidarity,” and how it’s a chance “to be with others.”
“We’re trying to continue building a coalition of opposition and solidify it,” said Dodd.
