Goshen joins another national day of protest against Trump, DOGE
The message, marked in a song led by Sam Yoder of the Poor People's Campaign to a group of around 200 protesters outside the Elkhart County Courthouse on Thursday evening, was part of the overarching message of the May Day Strong protest.
Goshen's protest was among thousands of the same across U.S. cities against the President Donald Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, a continuation of the nationwide protests that began with the Hands Off! Protests in April.
Yoder spoke about what he called the interlocking injustices of systemic racism — poverty, ecological devastation, economy and religious nationalism to make right things that have gone wrong.
'It's going to cost us something, but let's not rest until it comes,' Yoder said.
At Goshen's protest, state Republican lawmakers also felt the pressure, as speakers urged the community to vote for change.
'We've got to get somebody that's fired up, well-funded and motivated to bring back democracy to Elkhart County, Indiana,' said Elkhart Common Councilman Dwight Fish, District 4. 'Democracy will not wait. It's not convenient. Democracy demands our attention. Democracy demands that we fight for everything the Constitution represents.'
Fish spoke predominantly on immigrant rights.
'Our job, folks, is to fight back with every fiber in our being and make sure that we show them how to do democracy right,' he said. 'What about those folks who come here with the hope and dream of living in a town like Goshen and expressing their right? They're not doing anything wrong. They want to work. Why are we not making a pathway to citizenship? Why are we not doing that? Because the powerbrokers love to manipulate and distract and take everything that they can and not give you a thing back.'
Elkhart activist Corinne Straight told the crowd that in the last election in Indiana, 40 state district seats went uncontested.
'I feel like we have all been sold an American Dream by people who have been strategically and deliberately stealing it for themselves,' Straight said. 'We keep working harder, and they keep getting richer.'
Straight pointed to a statement by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun during his campaign, wherein Braun said he was able to hand over his family business that his father gave to him to his children, calling it the American Dream.
'At first I thought maybe he misspoke, but he said it several times in several different appearances,' Straight said. 'We do not dream of becoming tech billionaires, we do not dream of handing over multimillion dollar companies to our children, we dream of going to the doctor, we dream of putting food on the table, we dream of our children getting to have a career and an education without starting out their lives tens of thousands of dollars in debt, we dream of retiring. Our dreams are so basic.'
Straight argued that Braun and Lt. Gov. Mike Beckwith's comments on hard work allowing them to achieve their goals were comments of 'nefarious intent.'
'This is not about hard work. This has never been about hard work. There is no one in this country that works harder than poor people,' Straight said. 'This has never been about work ethic. This has always been about privilege and opportunity and the billionaires understanding that our hard work is going to make them richer.'
A few scheduled speakers did not attend the protest. Kate Marsh, with Elkhart County Indivisible, spoke on behalf of Short Term Partnership With Immigrant Neighbors, announcing their program to those in attendance and asking the community to support immigrants by driving them places to keep them from driving illegally.
Kevin Peters of the Elkhart County Democrats, who ran for county council last year, announced the candidate recruitment committee and urged residents to get involved and begin training and meeting together.
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