A group of Cordova residents concerned about President Donald Trump’s tactics to slash federal programs and fire thousands of federal employees joined others nationwide on April 5 with a “Hands Off!” rally in downtown Cordova.
With wind, rain and temperatures in the low 40s outside, more than 100 participants gathered at The Cordova Center to voice concerns about budget slashes impacting education, libraries, museums, health and marine science research, and the future of Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Administration and Social Security.
“People want to know how these changes have or will impact people in Cordova,” said Signe Baumann, one of several organizers of the event.
The demonstrators then took to Main Street, waving their signs and doing their chants, she said.
“We marched down one side of Main Street and down the other side,” Baumann said.
Marchers were then encouraged to come back to The Cordova Center, and given cards and stamps to write to Alaska’s congressional delegation to voice their concerns.
During the march several motorists honked their approval while driving by. One driver not in support of their march was flying a Trump flag, Baumann said.
While Cordova is kind of evenly divided on a lot of issues, there appeared to be more people in support of the rally than not, according to Baumann.
“It gave them a way to be part of the national resistance,” she said.
The local rally was one of more than 1,200 in all 50 states. Hundreds of people came out on the day of action all across the Last Frontier, including in downtown Anchorage and at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. The Associated Press reported that April 5 was the biggest day of demonstrations yet by the Trump opposition movement.
“After the march the group also talked about having get togethers, potlucks, meetings, to build community,” Baumann said.
Kate Trudeau, president of Friends of the Library in Cordova and recently elected Cordova School District Board of Education member, spoke about the importance of supporting libraries and museums.
“I sure hope they will continue to maintain interest (in these matters),” she said.
While the local library does not benefit directly from federal funding, the state gets money from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and for the Libby mobile app and web platform – which allows users to borrow digital content from their local libraries, including ebooks, audio books and magazines. The Statewide Library Electronic Doorway (SLED) also offers library user benefits, including live homework help via online tutoring, plus advice on how to apply for a job online, how to write resumes and cover letters, how to prepare for an interview, and how to apply for unemployment insurance.
Alaska’s statewide interlibrary loans are funded also through the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Trudeau said she decided to participate in the rally because “I just love the library, but also it feels like things are being done at a national level at a rushed level and not being thought through. They are not thinking about who gets hurt in the process and I think it’s kind of sad,” she said.
Amy O’Neal Houck, another Cordova resident and co-editor of Edible Alaska Magazine, addressed demonstrators at The Cordova Center.
“These times feel divisive and even in our close community, in some spaces it can feel like there’s a wall of opposition against who you are or what you value,” she said. “I think about how, in spite of differences, Cordovans share a lot. This community excels at caring, at taking care of people in emergencies, or people who need longer term help.”
Houck emphasized the community culture in Cordova.
“We’re in a community with neighbors who’ve just arrived, with those who might be here just for a season, and with neighbors who’ve been here for generations, whose people have been here for thousands of years,” she said.
People are protesting the Trump administration’s threats to their livelihoods, Houck said.
“We want affordable access to healthy food,” she said. “We want safe and vibrant schools. We want robust health care available right here when we need it. We want dissent and disagreement, and the safety and freedom for every one of us to be who we are.”
She continued: “So what can we as individuals do? We keep forging connections, we go outside, we encounter people we don’t know. We make friends.”
Cordovans show up for the scary stuff, Houck said.
“You’re not alone,” she said. “We’ll stand with you.”
