Events are planned for throughout San Diego County Thursday for "Good Trouble Lives On," billed by organizers as a "national day of nonviolent action" on the fifth anniversary of the death of Rep. John Lewis.
The phrase was coined by Lewis, one of the "Big Six" leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, to explain the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.
"This is more than a protest; it's a moral reckoning," organizers said.
Organizers have asked participants "to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values."
San Diego County events include sidewalk sign-waving rallies at 10 a.m. at Fletcher Parkway and Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon and 3 p.m. at 717 W. San Marcos Blvd. in San Marcos, according to organizers.
Other events are planned for:
- Carmel Valley, 10 a.m., Carmel Country Road and Del Mar Heights Road;
- Encinitas, 4:30 p.m., corner of Encinitas Boulevard and El Camino Real;
- Downtown San Diego, 5 p.m., Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Highway;
- Mira Mesa, 5 p.m., 10788 Westview Parkway;
- Vista, 5 p.m., Soroptimist Parkette, North Santa Fe Avenue and Vista Village Drive.
- La Jolla, 5:15 p.m., Girard Avenue and Pearl Street SW;
- Carlsbad, 5:30 p.m., Carlsbad Boulevard and Pine Avenue;
- University City, 5:30 p.m., location is private and will be provided upon RSVP;
- Escondido, 6 p.m., Grape Day Park, 321 N. Broadway;
A detailed description of events is available online.
Lewis participated in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins, was a Freedom Rider who rode interstate buses to force their integration, and helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington.
In 1965, Lewis led the first of three Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where he and other protesters were brutally attacked by law enforcement officers in what was later called "Bloody Sunday." The marches spurred support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Lewis was a Democratic House member from Georgia from 1987 until his death in 2020.
