South Bay residents protest Trump administration in honor of civil rights leader John Lewis

South Bay Area residents protested the Trump administration Thursday in downtown San Jose as part of a wave of demonstrations across the country on the fifth anniversary of former congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis’s passing.

Organized by the San Jose chapters of Indivisible and 50501, the protest began at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park and ended with a march to City Hall. The day of action is dubbed “Good Trouble Lives On,” in reference to Lewis’s call for people in America to participate in “good trouble” by speaking out and taking action against injustice.

“We believe that part of making ‘good trouble’ is community building and getting organized so that when time comes to make some kind of good trouble, you have people on your side,” said Tal Karsten, an organizer with 50501 San Jose.

Protests against Trump have spread throughout the country in the past several months, with a “No Kings” protest drawing roughly 2,000 people to downtown San Jose in June. More than 140,000 protestors attended the more than 50 “No Kings” protests across the Bay Area, according to a survey of local organizers, and hundreds also attended anti-ICE protests throughout the Bay Area the week prior.

Karsten said 50501’s protests tend to be “beginner-friendly” for people who have never attended a protest before.

Lewis, who served as U.S. Representative from Georgia for more than 30 years until his death in 2020, frequently invoked the phrase “good trouble” during his public service career. One such instance was when he returned to Selma, Alabama, for the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when he suffered a skull fracture from police beating civil rights activists during the first march for voting rights from Montgomery to Selma.

“Speak up, speak out, get in the way,” Lewis told the crowd that had gathered in honor of that day. “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”

He is the namesake of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore a provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 by requiring states and municipalities to obtain federal approval before changing voting laws. The bill failed to pass Congress twice due to Republican opposition and was reintroduced in the House this March.

Recently-elected City Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, who represents downtown San Jose, and Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong were among several speakers who addressed the crowd at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park.

“I think we unfortunately are in times where we need people who are going to be leaned in, who are going to be standing up for their communities,” Tordillos told this news organization following his remarks. “So I was happy to join today.”

In other speeches, organizers and community members criticized what they view as the Trump administration’s violation of civil and constitutional rights, deportation efforts, and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and women. They also mentioned cuts to funding for Medicaid, which is the largest funding source for the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system, in Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” that Trump signed into law earlier this month.

U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the House floor Tuesday regarding the anniversary of Lewis’s passing.

“Today, as we witness attacks on civil rights, on democracy, on diversity, even on people’s basic necessities, many Americans are looking for hope,” she said. “In these moments, let us be reminded of John’s spirit and honor him not just with words, but with deeds.”

Protestor Beate Teufel, 60, immigrated from Germany and now lives in San Jose.

“I have German history, so I know what fascism is about,” she said. “And I see that this is clearly going towards fascism — what’s happening in this country.”

“I’m trying to come to as many [protests] as I can,” said Campbell resident Ana Araujo, 68. “I do it for my children, my grandchildren, and my friends who are immigrants, who are really, really scared right now, and I’m coming for them because they can’t come.”

Her foam-board sign included sketched faces of Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is dressed as a devil. She said she Googled phrases that Trump often says and chose one to put on the sign: “I don’t know anything about this.”

When she was riding the light rail to downtown San Jose for the protest, Araujo said, a man on the train saw her sign.

“There was a gentleman who said, ‘Thank you,’” she said. “I go, ‘I’m here for you.’”