The sidewalks along South Pearl Street near George Washington Park in downtown Centralia came alive over the weekend as residents waved American flags, raised signs and cheered in response to consistent honking from passing cars.
An often quiet minority in Lewis County made its voice heard in Centralia on Saturday as the 20th Legislative District Democrats organized a local “No Kings” protest, timed with hundreds of others that unfolded across the country.
People first gathered at the Twin Cities Senior Center for a pancake breakfast organized by the Lewis County Democrats before heading to George Washington Park. The park protest grew to numbers that were larger than expected by organizers before dispersing around 2 p.m.
The demonstration did not happen in isolation. It was part of a large number of nationally organized protests originally planned in opposition to a military parade in Washington, D.C., planned to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, which coincided with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
The protest, however, took on additional meaning as some attendees said they felt compelled to show up to protest federal immigration policies. Large-scale immigration protests first broke out last week in Los Angeles followed by smaller protests in Washington and elsewhere in response to workplace raids being carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
One mother and daughter pair at the Centralia protest said they came out to show support for family, friends and community members and to fight for a safe future.
“I want something that's healthy. I want a country that's healthy, and right now, nothing healthy about this,” Paige Masters said. “I want to be able to grow up and live where I'm from. It's not feeling like I can right now.”
Her mother, Alicia Masters, echoed the sentiment and also remarked on the impressive turnout of the event.
“I was praying it was going to be huge, and I’m really happy to see that a lot of people have come,” Alicia said. “We're wanting to protect our friends and family, the people we love, the people we’ve grown up with. And they have rights too. It doesn't matter if they’re here legally, they have rights.”
The turnout at the downtown demonstration was a surprise to many.
While organizers said they had a little more than 120 people RSVP online, the final turnout was likely much larger. By the time the protest neared its end, bodies crowded both sides of South Pearl Street, and some stragglers spread out onto the East Main Street side of the park.
“You know, I've lived here for a few years now … When there’s a protest going on, there's 40 or 50 people out here or less,” Robert Tweed said. “That's kind of what we thought coming into this today. I had thought about going to Olympia, the Capitol, but when we pulled up here, we were, like I say, pleasantly surprised. Gives me some hope that there is some humanity left in Lewis County.”
Like Tweed, many others said they also considered heading to Olympia for the larger-scale protest, but also decided to stay in Centralia. One group of young protesters said they had gone to protests in Olympia in the past for different issues but felt it was important to stay local and show up for their community.
“Representation from every spot,” Shayna Stensland said. “Olympia has its representation, and don't forget Centralia. Lewis County is in it, too; the good ones do welcome everybody, so here we are.”
In the end, the demonstration went off seemingly without issue as protesters remained entirely peaceful and dispersed promptly after the scheduled end of the event.
The protest not only brought an impressive turn out, but a striking range of supporters, with many young residents showing up to make their voices heard alongside a large number of older activists who attended the pancake breakfast earlier that day. That event, held at the Twin Cities Senior Center, served as a sort of rallying point ahead of the afternoon's protest.
While the pancake breakfast was advertised as part of the protest effort where attendees could make signs and fuel up, it also served as a platform for a slate of local candidates running for local office in the coming months.
Centralia City Council candidate Ray Chapman-Wilson, Chehalis City Council candidate Jessie Carver and Winlock mayoral candidate America Lunsford all got a chance to talk to the audience about their upcoming races. While each spoke of different local issues, an underlying message of representing more progressive views in a Republican-dominated region showed through.
Chapman-Wilson and Lunsford will both face primary races in August. Chapman-Wilson, who is running for the Centralia City Council District 2 seat, will face off against Leah Sisemore and Chuck Kifer, while Lunsford will compete against Jodie Curtis, Victoria Marincin and current Winlock Mayor Brandon Svenson.
