Lights for Liberty: Buffalo

Yesterday, I went to the Lights for Liberty rally in Buffalo with Jude and Jessica. Jude (pictured here with me) is also known as the Button Lady. She has a machine and she makes all sorts of buttons. She creates buttons for candidates and for various causes. Sometimes, the buttons are poignant, and sometimes, they are funny. This time, her buttons were more poignant than funny. Jude was quite popular with the media because of her basket of buttons, which she happily distributed, and because of her baby Trump balloon, which she displayed to best effect, despite the balloon's lack of size.

Last night, we listened in silence as the names of deceased migrants were read out loud.

media coverage

We listened with saddened hearts to stories told by migrant children about shocking conditions in detention facilities.

They talked about not having soap and toothbrushes and beds and blankets. The young mothers talked about having no changes of clothing or diapers for their babies. The children talked about being separated from parents and grandparents. Some of them were as young as five years old. Kindergarteners. 

The event planner holds the
microphone for her daughter,
who reads a letter written
about conditions in the
detention facilities by
a young child.

A few hundred persons stood on the grass at the corner of Bidwell Parkway and Elmwood Avenue, holding up signs that asked for the U.S. government to respect the basic human rights of people who have come to this nation, seeking asylum.  As darkness fell, we held up candles and flashlights to shine a light in an impenetrable darkness that was darker than the fading light in the sky.