Marblehead resident Joanne Stone-Libon stood near the harbor at State Street Landing Thursday afternoon, holding a cardboard tombstone and recounting the story of Nevaeh Crain — an 18-year-old Texas woman who died during a miscarriage after being denied medical care.
“She was six months pregnant. She couldn’t get the treatment,” Stone-Libon said. “Doctors in certain states like Texas … they’re afraid, because if they do any type of intervention, they could … go to jail. So they sent her home.”
She added, “And on the third time they did two ultrasounds to determine the fetus’s viability, and they found that the fetus was no longer alive.”
Stone-Libon was among about 15 mostly black-clad participants who formed a silent circle at the waterfront, each holding a cardboard gravestone marked with a right, institution or value they believe is being buried under current political conditions and the Trump administration. In total, roughly 100 Marblehead residents either joined or observed the demonstration — some to show solidarity, others to express quiet dissent.
The 30-minute event, billed as a symbolic “funeral for democracy,” was Marblehead’s contribution to the nationwide “Good Trouble Lives On” day of action. The coordinated movement marked five years since the death of civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis and aimed to honor his call to make “good trouble, necessary trouble” in defense of democracy.
From 2:15 to 2:45 p.m., participants took turns stepping into the center of the circle to deliver emotional eulogies for what they described as casualties of the current political era. Gravestones read “RIP Due Process,” “RIP Climate Science,” “RIP Department of Education” and “RIP Democracy.”
The demonstration was organized locally by the Marblehead League of Women Voters and the Marblehead Alliance for Democracy, part of a growing wave of civic engagement in town this year. Since June, local residents have held weekly “stand-outs” at the intersection of Lafayette and Maple streets, waving signs and urging passersby to stay politically engaged. Those gatherings — typically held on Saturdays — have drawn anywhere from a dozen to more than 50 participants, depending on the weather and the week’s political news.
Elizabeth Stone, a Montessori teacher, held a tombstone lamenting cuts to public education.
“We are going to lose our democracy if we don’t stand up to what’s going on because it really is outrageous,” Stone said. “I’m a teacher … I’m just here to say, ‘Don’t cut the Department of Education.’”
In addition to personal testimony, several participants performed dramatic first-person monologues. One spoke as a teenager who died by suicide after losing access to mental health services. Another portrayed a family killed in a flood, blaming cuts to climate research.. A third read Martin Niemöller’s poem “First they came for the communists,” while standing in for the loss of due process protections.
Christopher Johnston, who has attended multiple local protests since Trump’s reelection, said the demonstration was designed to illustrate the breadth of perceived democratic erosion.
“We’re looking at an administration that is breaking every rule of law that we know,” Johnston said. “And in the process of doing that, they’re destroying the democracy that is described in our Constitution.”
He added that his connection to the issue is personal — he has so far survived cancer thanks to treatments developed through National Institutes of Health research funding, which he fears is now under threat.
Thursday’s action was one of nearly 100 held across Massachusetts and more than 1,500 nationwide, according to organizers. Flagship demonstrations took place in cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, Oakland and Annapolis.
Marblehead’s event followed a wave of activism this year. In April, about 600 residents attended a “No More Kings” rally at Old Town House. That same month, dozens joined a “Hands Off” rally in Salem protesting threats to social programs and bodily autonomy.
Bonnie Grenier, one of the demonstration’s organizers, said the group wanted to do something striking — and deeply symbolic.
“We wanted it to be like a surprise. It’s almost one of these flash mob things,” she said. “People need to be made aware, and sometimes their heads are in the sand.”
The protests, she added, aim to keep urgent issues and ongoing political actions at the forefront in a world where headlines fade fast and public attention shifts by the hour.
“There’s something really important about having that support from a decent-sized group,” Stone-Libon said. “So you go to the rallies in Salem or Swampscott or Marblehead, and you feel that you’re not alone … you’re not sitting at home, scratching your head, trying to understand, how is this happening?”
