Americans are mobilizing en masse against the Trump administration. First, there was “50 protests, 50 states, 1 day.” Then came “Hands Off” and “No Kings.” On July 17, the 50501 organizers behind these national days planned yet another slogan-driven day of action: “Good Trouble Lives On,” on the fifth anniversary of John Lewis’ passing. John Lewis was a legendary congressman who was famously arrested 45 times during the Civil Rights Movement for getting in “good trouble.”

If you attended any of these events – and especially if they were your first protest – I’m glad you attended. Defeating fascism will take all of us, and we need a diversity of tactics to protect our communities from Trump’s fascist agenda.

But what many participants showing up to 50501 events may not realize is that these events are not protests; they are parades – at best. Fascism won’t be defeated by parades every few weeks. We need good trouble, just as John Lewis intended. And 50501’s version of “good trouble” won’t cut it.

For the July 17 “Good Trouble Lives On” event in New York City, organizers instructed participants to wear white and bring flowers rather than protest signs. Organizers and marshals led a crowd of 3000 people – mostly older and white, which tends to be the main audience of 50501 – for a five-block loop around 26 Federal Plaza. This building houses both the field office for NYC Immigration and Customs Enforcement and immigration courts, where ICE agents have unlawfully arrested hundreds of immigrants during their routine appointments and hearings. After a short march, participants were ushered to surround the building in a U-shape (notably not blocking any entrances), and asked to sit for a 30-second moment of silence. This brief sit-down in the street was characterized as a mass participation in “good trouble.”

No one can deny 50501’s ability to turn people out en masse. The “No Kings” protest in New York City on June 15th drew an estimated 50,000 people; and when a coalition of migrant and climate justice groups invited 50501 to an April 19th march, 50501 brought out 20,000 people. These crowds have impressed and inspired many, from media editors to seasoned activists. I do believe in the importance of a diversity of tactics and believe large marches are part of that. Large marches are accessible to new and experienced activists, and can tangibly demonstrate the magnitude of discontent.

The general method isn’t the problem. The problem is that 50501 events have included strict self-policing. In Los Angeles, 50501 organizers called the police on a Black vendor in attendance, and in New York City, they have used caution tape to rope off crowds to certain lanes and pathways. If a march refuses to be disruptive, it’s a parade, not a protest.

50501 protest “peacekeeping” became deadly in Salt Lake City when a 50501 safety marshal shot at a local community member known for exercising his right to open-carry at protests and rallies. An innocent bystander was hit and killed.

One metric for how serious a movement is taken is by the severity of the police response to those events. Very few police have responded to the New York 50501 marches because it’s clear: the organizers will police themselves. 50501 events can barely be called protests for how little disruption they create. The New York Knicks playoff games have significantly more police presence than 50501 protests. During the “good trouble” event in New York, I never counted more than 20 officers on-scene for a few thousand attendees.

In the months prior to 50501’s “good trouble” protest last week, 26 Federal Plaza had been (and continues to be) a scene of violence and heartbreak for both immigrants pursuing documentation and activists trying to protect them. In an effort to meet Trump’s cruel quotas, ICE agents have abandoned the pretext of pursuing “criminals” and begun detaining dozens of people daily in the immigration courts, where they pursue residency and citizenship. Regardless of a judge’s ruling in the courtroom, masked and unidentified ICE agents have waited in the hallways to kidnap immigrants after their appointments – dragging them into stairwells and to the detention center on the 10th floor.

The detention conditions on the 10th floor are horrific: detainees have no beds to sleep on, survive on less than one meal per day, and endure 24/7 lights. Eventually, they are transferred to larger detention facilities out of state, where they struggle to make any contact with their lawyers or families.

Human rights defenders known as “courtwatchers” who visit the courts to provide support to these immigrants, such as escorting them in and out of the building, have been threatened with arrest and tasers. And outside the building, when community members have gathered to protest, the NYPD has responded violently by tackling perceived leaders to the ground, pepper-spraying activists, and firing smoke projectiles to disperse the crowds.

50501’s vigil-style event last week sharply departed from activists’ daily work to protect immigrants at 26 Federal Plaza. The plan capitalized on the media sensation of events inside and outside the courts over the last few months, as well as John Lewis’s legacy, to host a performative form of protest that had no real effect.

To call the non-disruptive event an ode to John Lewis is an affront to his name and everything he represents. I don’t believe John Lewis would stand up and walk away after 30 seconds. I know he would act peacefully, but he would not “act lawfully,” as the Good Trouble event page instructed. The whole point of good trouble is this: when you see something unjust, you don’t just speak up – you get in the way. The U.S. government has already watered down Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy to the bare bones of fighting racial segregation; we cannot allow John Lewis’ legacy to be watered down as well.

And that is exactly what 50501’s “Good Trouble Lives On” event did. 50501 led participants to believe that they were participating in good trouble and fighting fascism. In reality, they staged a performance of solidarity with immigrants kidnapped inside 26 Federal Plaza and left. Detained immigrants don’t need your flowers left on the road like a memorial; they need you to fight for their freedom.

We need a movement of movements, and we cannot afford to waste our energy on internal divisions about the best tactics to fight fascism. As a young organizer myself, I certainly don’t have all the answers about how to meet this moment. I believe we need every effort people are willing to give.

That can include the large marches 50501 is mobilizing. They are bringing people into the movement who might not have done so otherwise; and these marches are accessible in ways other forms of protest may not be.

But I hope the people attending 50501 marches will also explore the myriad of other ways to engage in community defense against ICE and the fascist Trump administration. My organizing home, Planet Over Profit, is hosting a series of direct action trainings. You can join a neighborhood defense group like NYC ICE Watch or start your own. You can volunteer for a variety of advocacy and defense tasks with the New York Immigration Coalition, or find another defense group in your area.

No organizer should attempt to limit activists and community members to certain kinds of protest. To do so deeply undermines the fight against fascism. If 50501 organizers are serious about their anti-Trump rhetoric, I hope they will do better than their performance on July 17.

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