Suzanne Goodell found a shady spot among hundreds of sign-toting demonstrators in DeKalb County on Saturday, eager to protest the Trump administration and the president’s policies.
People of all ages lined both sides of bustling Clairmont Road for the “No Kings” rally. The planned protest drew a massive crowd, including several dozen residents from a nearby senior living community.
It was one of hundreds of protests across the country Saturday, including a large rally in Atlanta. People filled the streets in all 50 states to sounds off on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns, domestic military deployments and efforts to sideline critics.
Among the protesters in Decatur were people in their 80s and 90s, some of whom sat in walkers they had parked along the sidewalk.
“The Walker Brigade,” laughed 83-year-old Sandie Webb as she waved to passing motorists who honked in support. She and her friends from nearby Clairmont Place said they hold weekly rallies to protest the president, typically on Mondays.
But at 102, Goodell was likely the oldest person there. The Kansas native lives nearby with her daughter, who accompanied her to Saturday’s demonstration.
Credit: Shaddi Abusaid/ shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
Credit: Shaddi Abusaid/ shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
She joked they were the “reinforcements” for the “brigade” members seated just in front of them.
Goodell could have stayed home, but she said she didn’t want to miss the chance to speak out against Trump on a day when hundreds, if not thousands, of similar rallies were held in neighborhoods across the U.S.
“He’d just be a pitiful old man if he wasn’t president.” said Goodell, who celebrated her latest birthday last week. “But he is president and he’s in a position to do a lot of harm.”
She called Trump “a superb con man,” but said she’s “seen an awful lot” in her 102 years, including the Great Depression, the McCarthy era and the Civil Rights Movement.
Credit: Shaddi Abusaid/ shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
Credit: Shaddi Abusaid/ shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
The former librarian and mother of five seemed encouraged by the number of protesters Saturday, and said she thinks the country will be just fine.
Asked whether she was OK with a reporter snapping her photo, Goodell replied, “just don’t show it to ICE.”
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