Shame, shame, shame, the crowd of hundreds chants in response to the stories of inhumane treatment visited on immigrants by ICE, in our own neighborhoods and at the detention center in Burlington.

Thanksgiving Day is nearly upon us, a day we greet with mixed emotions. We are, indeed, grateful for the presence and love of family and friends; for the breathtaking physical beauty that can be found in every state of our country; and for the freedoms and fulfilled needs so many of us enjoy.

A young man stood holding his pro-MAGA sign amidst a throng of No Kings protesters, looking more than a little defiant, with a kind of “make me leave” attitude on his face. He clearly had an invisible fence around himself, with powerful projectiles protecting him from others and others from him.

In major cities and small towns throughout all 50 states, millions of people showed up Saturday at more than 2,600 pro-democracy rallies (otherwise called Hate America rallies by Republican leaders). The sheer number of protests far outstripped the 2,100 No Kings rallies in June.

I’m sitting at my dining room table — alone since Covid continues to demand my isolation from others for a few more days — penning posters for Saturday’s No Kings rallies. As I push down on my markers, I picture my words transformed into action. With every stroke, I imagine I can magically create some needed change.

There’s a popular slogan going around “Activism is the antidote to despair.” We prefer, “Activism is the antidote to tyranny.” While the former may address our sense of hopelessness, the latter acknowledges the very real crisis we are in. With the federal government shutdown; our president posting AI-enhanced racist videos; people losing healthcare benefits at an alarming rate; and masked ICE agents grabbing people, including children, from their homes and workplaces, we have to overcome our despair, harness our outrage and engage in activism to fight the tyranny that is engulfing us.

The term micro-aggression had a moment in the late 90s and early oughts. It spoke to the ways people of color, of religions other than Christianity, and cultures other than white Anglo-Saxon suffered indignities in small but hurtful ways every day. Systemic racism seems to be a more commonly used term today in considering the way discrimination is baked into our society and government, yet both terms are equally important in these times of rampant discrimination, unbridled hate, and unconscious and conscious bias. We, as individuals, have more control over micro-aggressions, since we can determine what we ourselves say and do, and we can respond to others when they speak or behave in a micro-aggressive manner.

Who doesn’t love the story of Robin Hood? How can we resist the image of a brave young man hiding out in Sherwood Forest with his merry band of outlaws as they stop the coaches on the road to Nottingham Castle to steal from the rich and give to the poor? As they make sure those in need are clothed, housed, and fed? Sure, Robin and crew were breaking the law, and it would have been nice if there were a few women in the bunch but, hey, you’d be hard put to find a more appealing hero.

One of our Leading Ladies decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather recently and gather her dog into the car for a trip to a nearby park for a romp. Once there, she and the dog bounded out of the car only to be confronted by an angry man in a pickup truck. He rolled down his window and yelled that dogs were not allowed in the park. Our friend tried to defuse his vitriol, telling the man that she was on her way to the part of the park where dogs are allowed and he need not speak to her that way. He would have none of it. Her efforts only made him angrier. He continued to harass her, ultimately vowing to make sure no one ever tried to bring a dog into the park again.

Attendance at the president’s birthday party, aka the 250th Birthday of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade and Celebration, was well below the expected crowd of 200,000, according to the Associated Press. That is fewer than usually attend the annual Fourth of July festivities in Washington, DC.

At my college graduation, the class poet stepped up to the podium to speak and announced that he was gay. The school authorities immediately cut his microphone. That was decades ago and we have come a long way since then.

In America, we don’t do kings. This is the rallying cry for protests taking place across the country on Saturday, June 14. Leading Ladies will stand with many others that day to show our anger and frustration with how the Trump administration has “defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services.” (Nokings.org)

As activists committed to justice and equity, we attended Hands Off rallies across the country to stand united!

Many of us continue to struggle with how to stay informed without becoming so anxious we can no longer function. It is tempting to completely turn away from the news, but how can we when decisions are being made that might destroy our form of government and harm the lives of millions? Yet, when is it okay to cry uncle and say we have had enough? And, if we want to limit our exposure, what are the best sources of honest reporting?

The bad news keeps coming. Programs are ending. People are losing jobs. Vaccinations may no longer be available to children. We continue to feel vulnerable and fearful for ourselves and others.

Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank, hiding from the Nazis with her family in an attic in Amsterdam, wrote, “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” When I first read her words, I remember being filled with admiration for this young girl — for her courage, her ability to find joy in life as her world grew smaller and her future more bleak.

We find ourselves almost speechless as we watch the news and hear the heartless response of our president to the deaths of children on an airplane; to the deportation of immigrants; to the dismantling of programs meant to combat centuries of inequality; and to the dissolution of international alliances that protect our worldwide community.

Hate crimes and hate groups seem to be everywhere. We hear and read about them on a daily basis. While discrimination and prejudice against “the other” are nothing new, these current strains of venom seem to be striking dangerously and frighteningly close to home.

After last week’s letter about our 2025 Art as Activism contest inviting high school students to create posters expressing the importance of fighting book bannings and censorship in schools and libraries, and our plans for a forum on the same subject at the Cabot Theater in Beverly on March 26, we started thinking about what we might all do in our daily lives to spread awareness about this issue, increase knowledge, and make some tangible effect.

We are excited to announce our fourth annual Art as Activism contest for high school students. We believe that art is an effective form of activism, as well as an especially powerful way for students to find and express their voices.