17/07/2025
Hundreds of local citizens are expected to peacefully march from Lawton Skatepark to a rally at the Allen County Courthouse Green on July 17 to carry on Rep. John Lewis’ legacy of fighting for voting rights and social justice.
The actions in Fort Wayne are part of Good Trouble Lives On — a nationwide day of nonviolent protest inspired by the civil rights icon’s call to make “good trouble, necessary trouble.” Protesters will carry flowers to honor the memory of the Georgia congressman on the fifth anniversary of his death at 80.
City Councilwoman at Large Michelle Chambers will speak at the courthouse rally, which is expected to begin at about 6:30 p.m. Also speaking will be Bri Andrews, founder of the Bri the Change Foundation in Fort Wayne.
Participants will gather south of the Lawton Skatepark, 1600 N. Clinton St., at 5:30 p.m.for the march down the sidewalk on the western side of Clinton Street.
Quotes by Lewis will be chalked on the sidewalk along the march route, and volunteers will be collecting signatures on a petition to stop the U.S. Senate from joining the House in passing the SAVE Act. It would require citizens to present a birth certificate or passport in person to register. Attendees can also register to vote and get information on 50 local nonprofits seeking volunteers and donations.
The 0.6-mile march is roughly 1 percent of the 54-mile voting-rights marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Lewis’ skull was fractured by Alabama state troopers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday. The marches preceded the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
“Trump wants to make it harder for eligible citizens to vote, criminalize peaceful protest, slash health care and food assistance that working families rely on, and target Black, Brown, immigrant and trans communities with hateful policies,” said Jim Carpenter, co-founder of Indivisible Northeast Indiana, one of the protest’s seven organizers. “We’re standing united to protect our rights and build a democracy that works for all of us.”
The Fort Wayne protest is among more than 1,600 across all 50 states, including at least 25 in Indiana. Some near Fort Wayne will be in Angola, Berne, LaGrange and Warsaw, Indiana; and Van Wert, Ohio.
Those attending the protest in Fort Wayne are asked to RSVP at mbl.fyi/gt for planning purposes and check out the de-escalation training video at linktr.ee/indivisiblenei.
