Hundreds of people have been joining area protests (see above for one this Saturday!) organized or co-organized by Indivisible Charlottesville.
- Hundreds gathered for a March 15 “Tesla Takedown” rally at Tesla’s planned store (expected to open sometime April-June) at Stonefield Mall on Route 29. The Mall’s owner/developer told The Daily Progress that there are no plans to back out of a lease put together three years ago and executed last fall. If you feel strongly, call the number in the photo below to ask Stonefield to consider not opening the showroom or shopping at Stonefield (as some protestors noted).
- A “Stand Up for Science” rally took place March 7 at the Free Speech Wall. Scientists and medical professionals addressed rally-goers in response to the recent executive orders, funding freezes, and federal firings. Organizers said they want the Trump administration “to leave science to the experts.”
- March 4 was a “Stand With Ukraine”rally at the Federal Building on Main Street.
The goal of rallies is to encourage people to “Raise their voices, vote when the next elections come, and stand up for democracy and the kind of world we want to live,” Dan Doernberg (Indivisible Charlottesville and Charlottesville Dem member) said in an NBC29 interview.
Think protests don’t make an impact? Check out this now-classic article on the power of nonviolent protest movements. (Note: 3.5% of the US adult population is about 9 million people).