Four days after federal agents killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis and two others were shot in Portland, Oregon, protesters gathered for a caravan across Champaign-Urbana followed by a protest in the North Prospect shopping district.
The caravan and protest, organized by a group known as the Champaign-Urbana Resistance Effort, gained traction on the social media platform Nextdoor.
According to a post in CURE’s Facebook group, the Good Justice Caravan was organized to “demonstrate resistance to ICE’s deadly tactics, and support justice for Renee Good and others who have been murdered or injured by ICE.”
Dozens of cars marked with yellow streamers met at Lincoln Square Mall around 1:30 p.m. before driving down Main and Springfield Avenues. They turned north onto Prospect Avenue and continued until the intersection of North Prospect Avenue and Marketview Drive. From there, protesters lined up along the east sidewalk of Prospect Avenue between Marketplace Drive and Baytowne Drive, leading chants as many passing drivers honked in support.
“We have just been appalled this past week,” said Mary-Alayne Hughes, a member of CURE, on the motivation behind Sunday’s caravan. “Our group got together Friday night, about 15 of us as the steering group, and said, ‘what can we do?’”
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Hughes said she was surprised by the amount of people who showed up despite the freezing temperatures Sunday afternoon.
“We weren’t sure if people were going to come out or not because of the weather, but this is great,” Hughes said.
Temperatures were around 30 degrees Fahrenheit during the protest, with wind chills dipping below 20. Hughes attributed the weather to why some opted to join the caravan.
Advertising for the event attracted protestors from outside the C-U area to join the caravan. Germaine Light, Vice Chair for the Vermillion County Democratic Party, drove from her home south of Danville as a member of Indivisible, a nonpartisan social justice organization formed in 2016 as a response to President Donald Trump’s first election victory, to support the protest.
“I am very, very, very frightened and concerned for American citizens and anybody, residents of the United States, immigrants, everyone that’s here, and I love our country and I love our people, and I want the best for them,” Light said. “That’s why I’m here.”
The caravan and protest saw minimal disruption, although one passing pickup truck was seen “rolling coal” by emitting large amounts of diesel exhaust towards the protesting crowd around 3 p.m.
At least one unmarked squad car from the Champaign Police Department was seen parked in front of the Advance Auto Parts store on Marketview Drive observing the protest from a distance. The officer did not leave the vehicle, and eventually left as the protest disbanded.
“Listen to your people,” Light said to the Trump Administration. “You’re losing and your popularity is going down, down, down, and eventually you’re gonna have to face this. Get out.”
This protest comes as the third in C-U since the new year, following a protest against the U.S. attack on Venezuela in Downtown Champaign on Jan. 3 and a vigil for Renee Nicole Macklin Good outside of the Champaign City Building on Wednesday.
