Make Good Trouble: How We Redeem the Soul of America
John Lewis Showed Us How to Save America — Now It’s Our Turn.
The American Pamphleteer publishes radical articles, action-ready pamphlets, and books & fieldguides about the history of resistance—like The Rebel’s Playbook and How to Gum Up the Works—to help you sabotage fascism, organize locally, and build real democracy from the ground up. Check it out here.
On March 7, 1965, John Lewis carried a backpack onto the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Inside: a book, an apple, a toothbrush. He thought he’d be jailed. Instead, he was nearly killed. A fractured skull. A bloodied trench coat.
That’s what it cost to demand the right to vote in America.
He called it “Good Trouble.”
Necessary. Righteous. Unrelenting.
He said, “When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair — you have a moral obligation to say something. To do something.”
That was then. This is now.
We are living through the most brazen rollback of rights since Lewis took that march — not just voting rights, but human rights. Civil rights. Constitutional rights.
In Florida’s wetlands, a concentration camp hold hundreds—many of whom face only civil immigration violations—in harsh, tented conditions encircled by wildlife.1
In blue cities, ICE units storm streets, abducting citizens without warrants.2
In Texas, governor Abbot threatens aggressive gerrymander intended to flip up to five additional GOP seats.3
In Washington, the Constitution is shredded beneath the boots of authoritarians who fly no flag but their own.
This isn’t politics. This is power. Naked, brutal, escalating.
And we are not powerless.
Today, July 17th — five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis — people across the country will rise up to honor his legacy and make Good Trouble together. Not just for the right to vote, but for the right to live free from terror.
To live at all.
Will you be one of them?
How to Make Good Trouble Now
1. Show Up Where It Matters.
March at your courthouse. Protest outside ICE facilities. Rally at state capitols. Surround detention centers—if you’re able, go to Alligator Alcatraz and protest. Stand where the injustice is happening.
2. Name the Crimes.
Speak plainly. Concentration camps. Kidnapping. Fascism. Criminals. The regime thrives on our silence. Name the evil.
3. Protect the Vote — But Don’t Stop There.
Register voters, yes. But also protect neighbors, document abuses, challenge illegal detentions, support lawsuits, and fight disinformation at every turn.
4. Call Your Representatives.
Demand action. Demand accountability. Demand protection. And remember: they work for you.
Find your reps here.
5. Use Your Platform.
Spread the truth. Amplify those on the front lines. Organize, fundraise, protest, refuse to look away. This is the only legitimate topic of conversation now.
Hashtags: #GoodTroubleLivesOn #MakeGoodTrouble #JohnLewisDay
6. Join the Resistance Beyond Tomorrow.
Support organizations defending rights, dignity, and democracy:
RAICES
Southern Poverty Law Center
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
ACLU
Black Voters Matter
7. Teach the Truth.
History didn’t end with the Voting Rights Act. Read Lewis’s memoirs. Watch Eyes on the Prize. Share stories of resistance. Teach others how to fight fascism — before it’s too late.
Find an event near you.
Over 1,000 protests, marches, and community gatherings are happening nationwide TODAY. Visit:
https://goodtroubleliveson.org
(Or search “Good Trouble Lives On 2025” + your city)
John Lewis didn’t fight just for the vote. He fought for dignity. For freedom. For the right of every human being to live without fear of their government.
Today’s Good Trouble means confronting it all — the camps, the kidnappings, the voter suppression, the cruelty. Because if we wait for it to get worse, we’ve already waited too long.
We are not spectators to history. We are the makers of it.
Go make Good Trouble.
—Lady Libertie
Want to fight back without burning out?
How to Gum Up the Works is a sabotage field guide for everyday citizens—full of real tactics used by resistance fighters throughout history, adapted for today’s authoritarian threat.
Download the digital edition now and start jamming the gears.
Read more at The American Pamphleteer.
Rusbridger, R. (2025, July 14). Hundreds of detainees with no criminal charges sent to Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/14/alligator-alcatraz-lawsuits?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Levin, S. (2025, July 13). Troops, terror and tears in Los Angeles as ICE raids show no sign of slowing. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/los-angeles-ice-raids-terror
Harris, K., & Ernst, J. (2025, July 15). Trump backs Texas plan to redraw voting maps to benefit House Republicans. Reuters.
It took one hundred years for civil rights and voting rights to happen. President Lincoln as you know had signed the thirteen amendments in to law. His tasks were mighty as a civil war was going on. Read Team of Rivals, a Doris Kearns book. Great reading for everyone.
Thank you.