Every Tuesday on Lisbon Street in downtown Lewiston, and every Saturday on the Longley Memorial Bridge connecting Lewiston and Auburn, a group of mostly retired Mainers gathers with signs, banners and a determination to make their voices heard.
The demonstrators are members and supporters of Resist Central Maine, a grassroots organization that advocates for democracy, civil rights, immigrant rights and social justice. Many have spent decades working as teachers, engineers, health care professionals, business owners and public servants. Now retired, they dedicate part of their week to public protest.
On June 16, as traffic moved steadily through downtown Lewiston, demonstrators lined the sidewalk holding signs supporting democracy, constitutional rights and immigrants. Many passing motorists responded with honks, waves and thumbs-up gestures. Some pedestrians stopped to ask questions or offer encouragement.
Not everyone agreed with the group. During the demonstration, one passing driver raised the middle finger toward the protesters before continuing down Lisbon Street.
For 76-year-old Auburn resident Judy Hierstein, showing up every week has become a way to respond to what she sees as growing threats to democratic values.
Holding a red sign that read “Where Do I Even Begin?” Hierstein stood among fellow demonstrators, including retired volunteer Walter S., who helps guide visitors wishing to interact with the group and informally oversees safety during the gatherings.
“I come twice a week with Walter and everybody else here to protest for my country,” Hierstein said. “Someone asked me yesterday, ‘What are you protesting?’ And I thought, ‘What am I not protesting here?’” Hierstein said she didn’t consider herself politically active for most of her life.
“It was Donald Trump,” she said, when asked what first inspired her to join the demonstrations. “For the first time in my life, I felt that our freedom was truly in jeopardy. I never felt that in my whole 76 years before.”
She said participating in the demonstrations helps combat feelings of helplessness.
“I think it’s important that people see us,” she said. “But even more important, it’s for me that I feel like I’ve done something. We feel so helpless, and this is something that we can do. And it’s nonviolent.” Her message to passersby is one of inclusion and equality.
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“I hope they think we love our country enough to want to save it,” Hierstein said. “I hope they think that we want a multicultural society where all people are treated equally, with the same privileges and rights as everyone else.” She said she is especially concerned about immigration policies and what she sees as growing racial divisions in the United States. “My heart is broken for my country.”
Among the regular participants is Earl Lamoreau of Litchfield, a retired professor of physics and engineering who has become one of the group’s most active voices. A lifelong Mainer, Lamoreau said he never attended demonstrations before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Before that, I had never been to a demonstration, never been to a protest,” he said. “It was the insurrection on January 6 that got me involved.” Lamoreau rejects the notion that the group’s activities amount to rebellion.
“This is peaceful protest,” he said. “This is part of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which allows citizens to express grievances to their government.” A former educator and longtime election official in Litchfield, Lamoreau said civic participation is essential to preserving democratic institutions.
“If you don’t exercise your constitutional rights, you will lose your constitutional rights.” He also volunteers with immigrant communities and said public demonstrations help reassure people they are not alone. “I think it’s important for people to know that there are other like-minded individuals out there,” he said. “More than anything, there are people who care.”
Regarding public reaction to the weekly demonstrations, Lamoreau acknowledged that not everyone supports the group. “The vast majority of motorists are neutral or supportive,” he said. “The middle finger is there, but it’s far and few between. There are far more honks and support.”
Among those gathered on Lisbon Street was Cecile Thornton, a longtime Lewiston resident, community volunteer and descendant of French Canadian immigrants whose family history reflects one of the city’s earliest immigrant communities. Two of Thornton’s grandparents were born in Lewiston after their parents emigrated from Quebec in the 19th century. Her other grandparents were born in Canada and settled in Maine during the early 1900s.
Thornton said that history strongly influences how she views today’s debates surrounding immigration. “French Canadians were subjected to racism too,” she said. “I know that racism is wrong. In my eyes, we’re all God’s children. We’re all brothers and sisters.” Thornton has watched Lewiston evolve over the decades and believes newer immigrant communities have enriched the city.
“They’ve added color to our city. They’ve added culture to our city,” she said. “I’ve learned about so many different cultures since the arrival of all these African people to Lewiston. That’s something I’m grateful for.” She credits immigrants from countries including Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with helping her improve her French and broaden her understanding of the world.
Thornton worries that decades of progress in civil rights, women’s rights and social programs are being threatened. “I just need to let people know that this isn’t normal,” she said. “The people still have a voice in this country. But if we don’t stand up for our rights, we’re going to lose them.”
The phrase has become something of a rallying cry among participants. Thornton said the weekly demonstrations also provide comfort and solidarity. “When you get together and talk and hold signs together and sing together, it lifts you,” she said. “And if we can be lifted by this, hopefully we can lift others in the process.”
Pat Fogg, organizer of Resist Central Maine in the Lewiston-Auburn area, said the demonstrations are intended to encourage civic participation and public awareness.
“We need to stand up and fight for our democracy, for our freedom, for our dignity, which we are losing,” Fogg told Amjambo Africa. “We’re watching our allies walk away because they no longer respect what we stand for. We must reclaim our values and our voice.”
The issues discussed by demonstrators resonate strongly in Lewiston, a city whose identity has long been shaped by immigration.
French Canadian workers arrived in large numbers during the 19th century to work in the city’s textile mills. More recently, immigrants and refugees from Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and many other countries have transformed Lewiston into one of Maine’s most diverse communities.
For Thornton, that history carries an important lesson. “When you look at someone, look at them like they are your brother or your son. Look at them with love,” she said, recalling a line from “Le Carrefour,” an award-winning short documentary exploring Franco-American history and immigrant experiences in Lewiston, Maine.The group continues to gather weekly on Lisbon Street in Lewiston and on the Longley Memorial Bridge connecting Lewiston and Auburn. For many of them, showing up is itself an act of hope.
“We are a small group,” Hierstein said, “but at least we’re doing something.”
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the early July 2026 print edition of Amjambo Africa.
