People from around the Lehigh Valley joined Bethlehem residents July 17 at the Bethlehem’s Rose Garden to share prayers for unity, songs of deliverance and fiery political speeches denouncing the administration of President Donald Trump, especially its recent immigration raids that have left residents concerned about what they see as uncertain times.

Billed as a “Good Trouble Lives On” rally, it was part of nationwide day of action in response to the current administration’s policies as related to human rights and immigration.

The warm summer evening weather threatened rain, and it did come. But despite the heat and threat of rain, a crowd of about 370 gathered in the park.

The crowd of young and old, white, Hispanic, and Black were a receptive audience. Christians, Muslims, Jews, and even atheists were in the crowd. There were no counter protestors. Elected leaders, if present, were not seen.

U. S. Representative candidate Carol Obando-Derstine was present but did not speak.`

The event drew its theme from the legacy of former U. S. Congressman John Lewis’ 2014 commencement speech at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., “You must find a way to get into trouble, good trouble,” Lewis had said.

The “Good Trouble” rally was one of many held across the United States to honor Congressman Lewis and his legacy of fighting for social justice. Lewis died July 17, 2020.

City of Bethlehem Director of Equity and Inclusion Janine Santoro laid out the City of Bethlehem’s policy in an impassioned speech to the crowd assembled in front of the band shell

“While ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has come to Bethlehem and neighboring cities, our police continue to do everything in their power to help our migrant community.

“This includes never asking our residents about their immigration status during traffic stops or calls for service or intentionally collecting data that indicates immigration status.

“It means we do not and will not use our city resources to collaborate with ICE, participate in the 287(g) program [a partnership between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and state and local laws enforcement agencies to identity and potentially deport individuals who are unlawfully present in the U. S., or any agreement that deputizes local officers to act as immigration agents that would solely arrest someone for being undocumented. We continue to encourage people to call our police if they are unsure if someone is from ICE, and if you believe yourself or someone else to be targeted based on your or their race, ethnicity, or perceived immigration status.

“It means that we will continually engage with our migrant neighbors through outreach programs, bilingual officers and social workers, and intentional partnerships with local organizations.

“Lastly, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion has stayed steady – it is not so fragile that it begins and ends with a position like mine – but rather the work we do together weaves equitable outcomes into every department and bureau, always evolving to the best of our abilities and resources. So they can try to ‘get rid of the DEI person,’ but, be assured, the work will live on.

“And speaking of roles – all of you here tonight have your roles, professional and personal. You all navigate when you can step up, or when its time to tag someone else in, just like we do. Some of you are protesting, some of you are donating, some of you are posting, some of you are volunteering, and you do all this because you have determined that what happens to your neighbor is not separate from what can happen to you, and that your liberation and your rights are tied up with theirs, too.”

Debbie Laible from Allentown was at the rally with a couple of companions. “I care about human rights,” Laible said, “particularly rights for women and I care about the fact that immigrants are being kidnapped off the street and put in concentration camps.”

The Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards spoke about John Lewis’ legacy.

“John Lewis taught us that progress is not granted, it is earned. It is earned through courage in the face of adversity, through unwavering commitment to what is right and through the willingness to step out of our comfort zones and into the street, the legislative halls and the polling places to demand more than just an equitable society. But what I want to say more than anything is that Latino people, as a rule, don’t organize for justice; they flee for safety. They have been taught if they are not seen they will not be attacked, and that doesn’t work anymore.”

Other speakers included Guillermo Lopez of the Guillermo Lopez DEI Institute; the Rev. Elizabeth Goudy of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley; Rabbi Michael Singer of Congregation Brith Sholom, Imam Beytullah Colak, the outreach director at Respect Graduate School; and the Rev. Clinton Bryant, president of the Bethlehem Chapter of the NAACP.

Goudy spoke on behalf of the LGBT rights community.

“Congressman Lewis had a long history of supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. His leadership and his vision of the beloved community is much missed in Washington, D.C., and around the country. It seems there’s a lot of sin around right now. Stealing from the poor to give tax breaks to the rich is sinful. Family separation is sinful. Banning, transgender people from serving in the military is sinful. Withholding trans-affirming medical care is sinful.”

Goudy mentioned other “sins” like limiting access to books with LGBT themes and developing algorithms that spread hate for the LGBT.

“There is still an outrage industry at work today,” she said. “I will say on both the left and the right, but you know what people get stuck in outrage. There’s very little that is solved, but there are brilliant people around the world, continuing to do the hard work of working for LGBT justice and immigration justice and disability justice and environmental justice and racial justice and other types of difficult problems. We are able to solve these problems locally. Lehigh County passed one of the country’s most progressive nondiscrimination ordinances. Thank you Liz Bradberry.”

Rabbi Michael Singer referenced the murders in a Pittsburgh synagogue and the more recent incident when a hacked Sesame Street character, Elmo, was used to express racist and anti-Semitic messages.

“Elmo. Elmo hacked on social media. He spread lies. He wanted to divide people because when you divide people, and you spread lies, and people begin to believe it, then you can impress and enslave not only the minds of those you think are now on your side, but all of those … people against you.

“The problem now is we have too much hate. I believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe that we have an obligation to condemn speech that is racist. We have to end hate for good.”