Over 300 people of all ages attended the League of Women Voters of Marblehead’s (LWVM) and the Marblehead Alliance for Democracy’s “No More Kings” rally for democracy Saturday afternoon.
The group met at the Old Town House at 1 p.m. on Washington Street where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” was read.
“Paul Revere, after witnessing those two lighted lanterns in Boston’s Old North Church, took action, and through his warnings, helped the colonists prepare for the imminent conflict,” said Gratia Pelliciotti, LWVM steering committee member, before the poem was read. “That conflict ultimately brought an end to a tyrant’s capricious rule. May Paul Revere and his local activism be a model for us today. May it shine a light, or even two, on the urgent need to protect our democratic principles and preserve our cherished freedoms.”
Judith Black, known for being one of Marblehead’s “renowned storytellers,” read the poem to the crowd, which erupted in applause and whistles when she finished — and even the dogs in attendance barked in agreement with their humans.
There was even a comical moment when the poem was interrupted by a truck blocking the speakers from seeing their audience across the street, which cracked plenty of smiles.
“Then, impetuous, stamped the earth, and turned and tightened his saddle-girth; but mostly,” Black read, “he waited for Seaside Movers to turn.”
Once Black finished reading Longfellow’s poem, everyone then marched up Washington Street to Abbot Hall where excerpts from the Declaration of Independence were read to an eager audience.
Lee Mowdale, the first speaker at Abbot Hall, said the event organizers for Saturday’s rally took inspiration from Patriots’ Day.
“Patriots’ Day was established in commemoration of the opening events of the war of revolution, the shot heard ‘round the world, when colonists took up arms against Britain on April 19, 1775 in Lexington and Concord and present day Arlington,” she said. “Our nation’s founding was in rebellion against the king, hence the title of our program: ‘No More Kings.’”
Repeated chants erupted throughout the reading of excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, such as: “no more kings,” “congress do your job,” “due process for all,” “hands off the judiciary,” “no more tariffs,” “respect the Constitution,” “he’s a felon,” “lock him up” and more.
“Homegrown poet” Kathy Cunningham de Rozier then emphatically read a poem she wrote: “Now is when the rubber meets the road, no matter if you’ve had the time to rest up, dust off or wake up, either compassion or kindness are holy virtues toward which you choose to strive, or superficial platitudes to which your soul longer ascribes. Now is the time when rubber meets the road, and you must choose: stand or swallow, sink or swim — or pretend and live in a lie.”
LWVM vice president Kathy Leonardson concluded the event by inspiring the crowd in remembering Marblehead’s track record of standing up for democracy.
“On Patriots’ Day, we affirm, as stated in this founding document, the Declaration, that all are endowed with certain unalienable rights, and we reject any move toward what our founders called ‘the absolute tyranny,’ but democracy is not just what we have,” she said. “It’s who we are.
“It’s the promise that we, the people, have the power to shape our destiny. The road ahead may be challenging, but we walk it together, with hope in our hearts and unity in our actions. We will defend democracy and ensure that it endures for generations to come. After all, Marblehead is the home of the Spirit of ‘76.
“In holding tight to our values, we each embody that spirit — the Spirit of ‘76 — right here, right now. We stand with each other. We stand for each other. We stand for our democracy.”
