By Delaney Newhouse | Focus Editor
Warm spring breezes floated through the air of Indian Spring Park on Sunday as signs danced up and down the sloped lawn along the Brazos River.
At noon, hundreds of residents from McLennan and surrounding counties gathered at a rally organized by the McLennan County Democratic Party. Speakers including Beto O’Rourke, Nancy Thompson and Wendy Davis addressed the seated but enthusiastic crowd at a “March for Democracy.”
Students and children created chalk art, dozens of dogs lolled in the grass and families ate from nearby food trucks while lounging on picnic blankets. At the bottom of the hill, speakers stood atop a makeshift stage, separated from the crowd by security barriers adorned with patriotic bunting.
Mothers Against Greg Abbott founder Nancy Thompson spoke on the importance of the Constitution, calling upon the rhetoric of its preamble.
“How dare they rip the pages of history and redraw the border of belonging?” she said.
Wendy Davis, a former Texas state senator and abortion rights advocate, roused a standing ovation with her ascent to the stage. She called on the history of strong female political advocates from Texas as inspiration, hundreds of voices echoing her back each time she called out, “We do not consent!”
“It is not America when people can literally be taken off the streets and shuttered away into jails and prisons because we don’t like what they are saying,” Davis said.
She emphasized the importance of the consent of the governed as well as the right to free speech.
Waco resident Jack Bowers linked this to the concept of habeas corpus, or the right to trial to determine imprisonment. He brought out a quote he had typed out from President Trump which he said denied people the right to due process.
“You know, the Magna Carta, June 15, 1215, so it will have an anniversary soon,” he said. “And they said habeas corpus — that means you at least get your own body. They don’t get to just pick you up and take you out of the room.”
Former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke spoke more specifically about President Trump, comparing his actions to President Nixon’s.
“We will not be silent at what President Trump is doing to our democracy, our economy and our allies around the world,” O’Rourke said.
Waco residents Ellie Caston and Gayle Lacey said they felt attending these sorts of political rallies was extremely important. Caston said she especially saw Generation Z as essential, since protest veterans from the Vietnam War and Equal Rights Amendment era and her and Lacey won’t last forever.
“Well, somebody’s got to do it,” Lacey said. “I have not changed my values.”
