Activists unfurl a banner reading “RESIST and DEFEND” on Trump Tower in downtown Chicago. © Greenpeace
It’s a sunny day in my hometown of Chicago and Greenpeace activists have just sent Trump and his team a message they can’t ignore: we will band together to resist his anti-climate agenda. I’ve never been more proud of my city — and the community of resistance sparking up all over the country.
Seeing that banner unfurl underneath the 20-foot letters spelling out “T-R-U-M-P” on Chicago’s Trump Tower — a building I’ve walked by countless times in my life — was something I’ll never forget.
BREAKING: Activists unfurl a massive banner at the Trump Tower in Chicago. Stay tuned for updates. #ResistOften pic.twitter.com/TQhGxBkeAy
— Greenpeace USA (@greenpeaceusa) July 7, 2017
This is a vital time to resist the Trump administration’s pro-polluter agenda and defend our planet and communities.
Chicagoans are feeling the urgency as much as anyone else. Poor, immigrant, communities of color — like the one I grew up in — will be the ones who feel the harshest effects of Trump’s attacks on our water, air, climate, and health. This is an administration that sees American lives and the health of the planet as disposable, and it is using all its power to execute its hateful vision.
I’m not going to sit by while Trump rips apart families with his inhumane immigration policies and paves the way for the fossil fuel industry to poison our air and water — and neither will my city. We will RESIST.
Chicago is a city that faces a lot of challenges. But we’re also a resilient, creative city full of brave communities that aren’t afraid to stand up to injustice. Like most native Chicagoans, there are many things about this place that make me proud to call it my home — our rich organizing legacy, resilient communities, and deep dish pizza to name a few. But over the last year, watching Chicago emerge as a leader in the resistance movement has made me love my city even more.
As Trump ramped up his racist, climate-denying presidential campaign, he scheduled a rally in the middle of the Chicago. We shut it down. And today, we continued our legacy of peaceful protest and a delivered him a message of resistance and perseverance I’m sure the world will see.
And today’s act of resistance is just the beginning — now it’s time for you to join and create change where you live.
All summer long, Greenpeace will be turning up the heat on Trump and his fossil fuel cronies through creative resistance and non-violent direct action through the Summer of Resistance, and I want you to join us.
We’ve marched, we’ve protested, we’ve rallied, we’ve called our reps — now it’s time for action. Through the Summer of Resistance, people like you and me are gaining the tools we need to stand up against injustice at home and the national level. You can sign up for free local trainings (like the one that took place here in Chicago last weekend), join creative non-violent resistance actions, or get support hosting your own creative resistance event.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned organizer or just joining the movement; the Summer of Resistance is for anyone who wants to make a difference. Whatever issue you’re most passionate about — climate change, clean air and water, social justice — this is the moment to take the next step and give your all.
Today it’s Chicago resisting Trump’s dangerous agenda and inspiring the movement. Maybe tomorrow it will be your city.
© Greenpeace
Dario Parra is a social media specialist for Greenpeace USA based in Chicago.
