MANSFIELD — Nancy Shimer stood on the grassy strip separating the sidewalk and the road. She held a double-sided poster in her left hand and waved to a passing driver with her right.
The Wooster resident usually spends her Saturday mornings at Shabbat services. This week, she drove to Mansfield’s Miracle Mile to protest instead.
Wearing a checkered red, white and blue jacket and a homemade prayer shawl, Shimer recalled the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel — a Jewish leader who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights Movement.
“He said when he marched with Dr. King, he felt like he was praying with his feet,” she said. “I feel like I’m praying by being here.”
An estimated 350 people participated in a ‘No Kings’ protest along Park Avenue West in Mansfield Saturday morning as part of a larger movement nationwide.
A similar protest occurred at the Black Fork Commons Plaza in downtown Shelby, including between 50 and 60 people. A handful of counter-protesters supporting President Donald Trump gathered on the opposite side of East Main Street.
Some held homemade signs made of posterboard, cardboard and even paper shopping bags. Some signs called out at President Donald Trump by name. Others referenced issues like democracy, freedom, kindness, immigration and foreign policy.
A few, including Shimer’s, contained verses from the Bible and Hebrew Tanakh.
One side of Shimer’s sign bore Deuteronomy 16:20 — a verse about justice. The other side had Leviticus 19:34, a divine command that the ancient Israelites treat foreigners with respect.
“I am Jewish and I believe very strongly in Jewish values — which I know are shared by lots of other religions — of peace and justice, taking care of people, being kind to people and treating people with dignity and respect,” she said.
“A society that works for justice for everybody helps everybody. Not just people that are currently oppressed,” she added. “It makes for a peaceful, more prosperous society. Pitting people against each other and being deliberately cruel to people just tears the society apart.”
In Shelby, two men from opposite sides of the political spectrum refused to be pitted against each other.
One participated in the “No Kings” protest, the other was a Trump supporter. The two men asked Richland Source to take their picture together in hopes of displaying that differing opinions can be approached with openness, acknowledgement and respect.
Why are people protesting?
According to its website, ‘No Kings’ is meant to be a ‘nationwide day of defiance’ against Trump and a parade scheduled for Saturday evening in Washington D.C.
That parade is a celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, according to the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission and non-profit organization America250. The Army stated that plans for the Army’s 250 birthday celebration had been in the works for two years, but the parade was Trump’s idea and planning for it only began recently.
Critics of the D.C. celebration have called it ‘military parade,’ objected to the cost and noted that it happens to coincide with Trump’s birthday.
Gina Jessee of Mansfield called it a ‘vanity project.’
“To have a parade that costs $45 million and we can’t afford Medicaid? This money is better spent somewhere else,” Jessee said. “We don’t need tanks rolling down the streets of the United States.”
But protesters shared a variety of concerns that led them to stand outdoors on a drizzly, gray morning.
Jeff Jordan, who served in the military during the Gulf War conflict, said he’s concerned about authoritarianism in the federal government, along with proposed tariffs and cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
“I’m just out here trying to save our democracy,” he said. “Somebody’s got to do something. Protests are about all we can do right now, until the midterms.”
Dave Cracker sat on a folding stool along Park Avenue West. The 86-year-old said he’s been emailing and calling his representatives in the U.S. Congress, but felt he needed to do more.
“They’re not going to do anything until they realize the people who have sent them (and haven’t sent them) have had it — and we’ve had it,” he said.
Cracker said he’s frustrated by the president’s “vengeful attitude” and lack of action on climate change.
“If nothing is done about it, a lot of this is going to be moot for our great-grandchildren,” he said.
Mansfield resident Jeff Williams held a small American flag and a sign that read, “Republican Against Trump.”
Williams said he is concerned Trump is trying to extend the powers of the executive branch and take over those belonging to Congress and the court system.
“I believe in the Constitution, the separation of powers and I’m really against the abuse of power I’m seeing by Trump,” he said.
“I have friends that have voted for Trump twice that are just dumbfounded by what they voted for and are scared of what they’re seeing now.”
Shimer said her biggest reason for protesting is the administration’s ongoing deportations.
“I think I’m most troubled by the treatment of people who may not be in the country legally, but who are otherwise law-abiding and contributing to society and the country and pay taxes,” Shimer said. “To treat those people with complete callousness and cruelty is just maddening and heartbreaking.”
Protests in Mansfield, Shelby remained peaceful
Protesters in Mansfield were greeted mostly by honks and waves from passing vehicles. In both Mansfield and Shelby, a few drivers offered a lewd hand gesture as they passed.
A pickup truck spewed thick black smoke towards demonstrators north side of Park Avenue West. Another truck, outfitted with an American flag and Trump flag circled the street multiple times, generating boos from the crowd.
Both protests remained peaceful.
“There’s been a few flipping us off and calling us losers, but basically it’s been a good response. Better than I would have expected,” said Pam Kennedy, an Ontario resident who came to the No Kings event in Mansfield.
Gerald Vega, president of the Richland County Young Democrats, paced the crosswalk of Park Avenue West with a megaphone.
Vega lead chants throughout the two hour demonstration: “This is what democracy looks like!” “86 47!” “No Kings!” “Hey, hey, ho, ho! Donald Trump has got to go!”
He said Saturday was one of the best attended protests he’s seen in Mansfield. He called the turnout “exhilarating.”
“We want to see everyone thriving and we just can’t stand for this blatant authoritarianism,” he said. “We want a normal life. We just want our democracy to be stable normal and for everyone.”
