For the second time in three months, the Town Common was ringed with hundreds of people chanting and carrying signs in opposition to the policies and actions of the Trump administration.
The Needham event was one of hundreds held across the nation on Labor Day, many of which were organized by labor groups working along with progressive activists, Democratic party organizations and other grassroots groups.
While not as large as the June 14 “No Kings” rally, the Labor Day event drew an estimated 500 people to the late afternoon gathering that featured a labor theme but also called out numerous administration policies as unconstitutional, un-American and even fascist.
The event was organized by Needham Resists, which member Bill Paulson said is committed to scheduling events on a monthly basis in coordination with state and national movements such as Mass 50501 and Indivisible. The group coordinated with members of like-minded groups from Wellesley who also participated.
It featured two speakers, labor organizer and Needham resident Frank Flynn, and state Governor’s Council member Tamisha Civil.
“To be blunt about it, we’re trying to fight some fascist movement, and the only way we’re going to do that is by building a lot of alliances,” Flynn told the crowd, warning that organized labor and the middle class were under threat.
“There are two things, two things in America that built the middle class: Progressive taxation, which developed all this wonderful public wealth that we see.”
“The other thing was labor unions. People could get into a labor union and have a good life,” Flynn said, claiming that Trump administration policies were weakening both of those foundations.
The need for building alliances and reaching out to disaffected Trump supporters was also emphasized by organizers and attendees alike.
“We are starting to hear people say ‘I’m regretting my vote,’ and we welcome those people,” said Paulson. “We want those people to feel welcome.”
In his remarks, Flynn addressed the need to heed the “anti-woke” sentiment that has gained traction among many factions in the United States as a backlash against movements geared toward inclusivity.
“I have an exhortation for everybody here as we go forward: Build more alliances. Try not to be judgmental of each other,” he told the crowd.
“I got a deal for you. I won’t judge you for how much you like artisanal cucumbers if you don’t judge me for playing too much cornhole. Build more alliances, make more friends, love more people. We have to be more inclusive.”
The vast majority of the attendees were older people, a point acknowledged by Wellesley resident Ken Batts. He is also a member of Sustainable Wellesley, a group he says “consists entirely of people under 22 and over 65.”
His group has been holding weekly climate demonstrations at Wellesley Town Hall for five years. “Actually, it’s 290 weeks in a row now,” he said.
Batts said the participants at protest events he attends “tend to be the older people, I think. Not just because they’re available, but because they’ve seen what’s going on.”
“I was at the first Earth Day in 1970 as a kid. And then I had kids and had a career and all that kind of stuff.”
The event attracted a large cohort of residents of the North Hill retirement community, including some whose activism dates back to the 1960s and 1970s.
“Many of us have been very active in our communities, and also back in the ‘60s and ‘70s marching on Washington,” said North Hill resident Imogene Fish. “We’ve always supported causes we believe promote democracy. And that doesn’t go away. I’m 93 and I feel just as strongly as I ever did about any of these issues.”
Fish held a sign along with Pat Palmer, who said the attendees are part of the Call to Action group at North Hill.
“It’s been through these rallies that we have gotten a lot of new members and a lot of people who are writing postcards and doing all sorts of phone calls and email writing,” she said. “So this is exciting for us.”
Palmer said she also was active in the ’60s. “I think we’re in more danger than we were then.”
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