Santa Rosa women's quote signs protesting Trump administration gains national interest
Saturday saw another mass demonstration in the North Bay, this time in Santa Rosa, where hundreds of people with protest signs gathered once again to express their opposition to the Trump administration.
But in one neighborhood, the signs are a bit different and have managed to capture the attention of the entire community and beyond.
At protests these days, you can see how personalized the fight has become. Each protestor carries a homemade sign expressing a common viewpoint, but having its own unique spin—some angry, some funny, some profane.
But on Saturday, amidst all the creativity, there was one kind of sign, printed for the masses, that was selling like hotcakes. It was all started by four women on Benton Street, the last time President Trump was elected president.
"We sat down with our favorite quotes and voted and made it happen," said Laura Doty. "That was eight years ago. And then, this began again and we decided to bring it back."
The signs were simple, black with white lettering, nothing inflammatory. Just quotes from famous human rights leaders.
Doty, along with Valerie Waidler, Kristen Throop and Melanie Jones-Carter, who call themselves the "Benton Street Improvement Association," said they simply wanted to have their say without getting into too much trouble, even if, in the words of civil rights leader John Lewis, they considered it "good trouble."
"This is such a positive way of putting your issues out there," said Waidler. "You know, I'm not afraid to have this sign in front of my house. I have probably six signs in front of my house right now."
"These are things that people are putting in front of where they live, you know? And you have to have a comfort with that," said Throop. "And if you want to supplement that with something spicier you've done yourself, that's great."
Throop designed the signs to be simple, focusing on the power of the words themselves.
"The ones that, as far as I know, are moving most quickly are the Alice Walker, 'The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any,' and then the Margaret Meade, 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has,'" said Throop. "And those are things that people are really responding to, those two things very powerfully."
And they are responding from all over the country.
"We have shipped signs to Rhode Island, we've shipped signs to Texas. So, people feel like this is a way to show other people that they're not happy," Jones-Carter said.
They're selling them for $15 each, with the proceeds going to four local non-profits. At the rally, Sue Gruber actually bought them to be given away as gifts.
"The last time these fabulous women did this," she said, "I had the signs and I gave them out as Christmas presents to all my friends. This year, I'm going to family Easter in Napa and I'm giving them out to my family whether they like it or not. This is what they're getting for Easter."
The women figured they sold about 1,000 signs during the first Trump presidency. At Saturday's protest, they sold more than 300. And if it seemed odd that someone would pay for a sign that everyone else on the block already had. David Jasper, who bought 20 of them, said that may be its strength.
"Actually, I think that's probably why it works well...because there is a commonality," he said. "It's part of community, you know? So, other people in the community are sharing your same sentiments."
"People buy them, they put them in their yards. They spread," said Doty. "People walk down the street, they feel connected. They feel that somebody sees them and cares about them, that they're in a safe place. And also, it's an opportunity for people to take a stand."
People who never took a stand before are feeling the need to now. And while many are using their own voices, they're also finding strength in uniting around the words of others.
