The Joyous Protests of the Lafayette Hill Gang
A group of Milwaukee senior citizens protest every other Saturday.
East Side Seniors for Democracy. Photo by Luis Mora.
For those who think senior citizens have less physical stamina and social awareness than younger folks, you might want to stop by Lafayette Hill, just above the lakefront, on a Saturday morning. There you will encounter a lively group called “East Side Seniors for Democracy,” known less formally as the “Lafayette Hill Gang.”
The group is the brainchild of the former head of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, Sam Carmen, and was conceived shortly after Donald Trump began his term as president. An old friend of Carmen’s told him that she had been meeting with like-minded acquaintances to express their concerns about deep cuts to government services.
Carmen thought the concept worth exploring, so he contacted a few friends and invited them to join him on Lafayette Hill the following Saturday to protest cuts to vital government services. Those friends spread the word, and at the appointed hour on the following Saturday, a handful of seniors carrying signs they created assembled on the hill.
Carmen brought homemade cookies, which have since become a regular feature of the biweekly gathering.
Passersby who stop to chat might learn that the seniors who meet regularly on Lafayette Hill, ages 60 to 98, have a lifetime of collective experience in protest movements. Many marched in the 1960s alongside Father James Groppi, a prominent Catholic priest in the Milwaukee civil rights movement. Others marched in the fight for women’s liberation, and some marched for gay rights as well. The Vietnam War called others into action, and the Black Lives Matter movement spurred others to take to the streets again.
In short, the members of East Side Seniors for Democracy have been doing this sort of thing for a very long time, and they are good at it. They appreciate the drivers of cars who honk in solidarity, and tolerate with good humor the occasional driver who flips them the bird. They are happy social justice warriors, and their group is growing.
The group has now expanded to include 40 seniors who regularly congregate for an hour every other Saturday to highlight whatever they perceive to be the most pressing political issues: ICE operations, the concealment of the Epstein files, the invasions of Venezuela and Iran. This past winter, on frigid days when subzero temperatures made outdoor activity impossible, the Lafayette Hill Gang moved their operation indoors to continue their activism by writing postcards to local voters, encouraging participation in upcoming elections.
Now, as spring temperatures begin to warm, they have gone back to Lafayette Hill. When asked why they are motivated to return to the hill twice monthly, the answers are various yet similar. Local artist and teacher Tony Busalacchi says, “I’m not here for myself — at 93, I’m at the end of my road. I am here for my children, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren so that they will know the America I grew up in. I enlisted in the Navy during the Korean War to fight communism; now we have no idea why we are at war, except to satisfy the ego of one man.”
Rita Rochte, a former teacher and psychotherapist, adds, “I know that there is strength in numbers, and being a good citizen requires us to actively participate in preserving our democracy.”
Michelle Mooney, a licensed deacon of the Episcopal Church and lifelong community organizer says, “Protest is ‘love in action’ — I am a Christian who is called to make the world better. Right now, there are a lot of people who are suffering. The best way to bring change is to stand with them.”
Those who encounter the Lafayette Hill gang will find a merry band of seniors so intrepid that they arrive on walkers, in wheelchairs or on still-sturdy legs, holding posters proclaiming, “Seniors for Sanity,” “Make America Kind Again” and “No Kings in America.” During the most recent “No Kings” marches, the group swelled to nearly 60 protesters: gray-haired, bespectacled and energized. They waved to passersby who live in the neighborhood, inviting them to join.
Those who join are well compensated for their efforts — they are offered one of Mr. Carmen’s homemade cookies and one of the hats worn by many of the East Side Seniors who meet on the hill. On each hat, a single word:
“Resist.”
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Milwaukeeans interested in joining the protests may contact Carmen for additional information at alta2002@aol.com.
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Glad for and inspired by this group of caring seniors!
Great actions from older adults! I wish their enthusiasm would spread across Milwaukee County– there are 190,000 adults over the age of 60 here, and numbers are growing daily!