Poetry into Power, as Hundreds Rally on the Green
by Lucy Gellman, April 6, Arts Paper
Aaron Jafferis’ words floated over the New Haven Green, wrapping a few hundred people in their sound. Air / I am taking as many deep breaths as you can spare now / Cause they’re gutting our clean energy and air now, he started. A few feet away, Witness to Hunger Kim Hart breathed in, a cold tightness in her chest when she thought about the last two months. So, our lungs are gonna need great healthcare now / But they’re tearing that down too, it’s not fair now!
Photo: Lucy Gellman
A sign that read “WE THE PEOPLE WE THE MILLIONS” bobbed against the cloudy sky, undeterred by the drizzle. Jafferis pressed forward, tying healthcare to benefits for veterans like his dad, to life-saving cancer research and LGBTQ+ rights, to public land and the performing arts. Get your hands off park rangers / And artists’ passionate hearts! he read, a growl at the very edge of his voice, and the crowd went wild.
That broad, sometimes staggering survey (and often, indictment) of the current political landscape defined Saturday’s “Hands Off” rally and march in New Haven, part of a national day of action aimed at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and President Donald Trump in his second term in office. Held beneath a low-hanging, spitting gray sky, the event brought hundreds to the heart of downtown to both listen and speak out against what they see as a precipitous dismantling of Democracy.
[See article in its entirety at bit.ly/3Ex8SKT]
