Shelby County unites for Labor Day rally
SHELBYVILLE — “Eat the rich” and “people over profit” were two of many signs being held up at a Shelbyville rally this Labor Day.
The Monday rally took place in the morning at the Sixth Street Plaza. Around 100 people filtered in and out of the event. Many passersby showed support for the protestors by honking and raising fists in the air.
Chalky trans and rainbow flags filled in the pavers along the strip as bubbles and music floated through the air. Several children attended the rally, some walking aside their parents, others hoisting their own sign while sitting on a parent’s shoulders. Many of the kid’s colorful signs were a result of some of the booths with crayons, markers and posterboard encouraging the attendees to make their own signs.
Between the booths there was a wagon and tub, collecting items to be donated within the community, including canned goods, diapers, wipes, etc.
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Haiden and I happened upon the protest while visiting our favorite Shelbyville spot, Sixth and Main Coffeehouse. I learned of the event after complimenting a customer’s resistance Care Bear tank top while we waited in line. She said she and her husband came from Louisville to be there for the event.
Sitting by the windows, I watched as dogs and people of all ages lined the street protesting the government and asking – pleading, rather – for one that cares about people.
“When injustice is legal, resistance is duty” was a sign that struck me from the rally, not because it was a revelation, but because it’s something that I strongly believe in, and it’s refreshing to see other people fighting, too.
When the world begins to feel too daunting, I remind myself that I can merely impact my corner of the world. For a while, that corner was unstable, bouncing from house to house, to Shelbyville to Louisville to Groningen, to back to Shelbyville to Louisville…you get the picture. It’s challenging to build community when your corner keeps changing, or at least it feels that way sometimes.
Sitting in that coffee shop in Shelbyville on an almost-fall-weather day, where I spent many mornings working as a barista and chatting with regulars, the feeling of community came rushing back. Community is everywhere. Community can be temporary, it can be permanent, it can come and go and find you again.
I didn’t expect to see such a significant turnout for a democratic event in Shelbyville, Kentucky. But I’m finding that your corners can surprise you. You may go from wanting to flee the country one year to realizing that setting down roots here, in this corner of the world, might not be so bad.
