Members of the Pink Poster Club, a local civic engagement group, have no trouble with a quick turnaround.
In response to the city’s Sept. 8 statement stating federal immigration agents would soon be present in Evanston, co-founders Savanna Essig-Fox and Emily Miller (Weinberg ’11) and member Lisa Leicht swiftly organized a demonstration.
The event became even more relevant after Department of Homeland Security agents arrested an individual near the intersection of Church Street and Brown Avenue last week.
“To have them in Evanston makes it less safe to be here — for me and my family, for immigrant communities, for marginalized communities, for everyone,” Miller said.
Their “Keep ICE Out of Evanston” protest took place Monday afternoon at Fountain Square.
Pink Poster Club first announced the protest Thursday and drew a crowd of over 100 attendees. Mayor Daniel Biss described the turnout as “remarkable” considering the four-day notice.
“We need to be very clear about something, which is that, in spite of all that we are doing, this moment is a nightmare,” Biss said. “No external organization, whether it’s a city council or a court or a Congress, is going to save us. We are going to have to rise up as people from across this country as a massive, massive movement of resistance to save ourselves.”
Alds. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th), Juan Geracaris (9th) and Shawn Iles (3rd) were also in attendance.
Bushra Amiwala (Kellogg ’25), a candidate for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, carried a sign that read “Immigrants are more American than ICE.”
She said it felt “liberating” to attend the protest, describing the ability to protest as a privilege.
“I am hyper aware that for someone who looks like me, with brown skin and visibly Muslim, it isn’t necessarily always safe for me to show up in every form of protest against ICE,” Amiwala said.
Jacqueline Mendoza, part of an Evanston rapid response team, said she’s been reliving experiences she had growing up in Tennessee, where she watched raids and detentions hurt several people around her.
Now, she said, it’s been nice to see Evanston residents showing up to push for change.
“For me, to be an Evanstonian is to choose unity over division, to choose action over silence,” Mendoza said.
Although started by Evanston residents, Pink Poster Club’s reach has expanded through social media. The club now has members plastering its signature pink posters across the country, spanning from California to Texas to New York, Miller said.
Its events are also reaching people of all ages. Chicago resident Ron Cox, a member of Lake Street Church and Indivisible Evanston, said he enjoyed seeing all the young people in attendance. One in particular caught his eye.
“This little guy — not even two years old — had a sign that said, ‘F–k ICE,’” Cox said.
Both Essig-Fox and Miller — and many other attendees — brought their children to the protest.
Many Pink Poster Club members are parents, Miller said.
“It’s really just a group of moms who decided to do something to make their community and their country better,” Miller said. “We’re doing it because we believe in the purpose of it.”
Pink Poster Club has similar events planned for the near future, including a No Kings Family Rally on Oct. 5 and Chicago’s second National No Kings Rally on Oct. 18.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
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