Hundreds of Newton seniors have joined protests and lobbied state legislators over the past 18 months, organizing in local nonprofits to oppose policies of the Trump administration as well as state and local issues.
Meg Holland, 72, who has been a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton (FUUSN) for almost 40 years and co-leads its Action for Democracy group, said many of the nonprofit’s members feel “devastated” by the current administration’s policies. Members of the organization have been active in protests supporting democracy, the environment, and LGBTQ+ rights.
“Ending racism is central in my life, and really ending all oppression is central to my life, so I feel like having a team of relatively like-minded people …makes it easier,” said Holland. “We can’t do this alone. We need each other.”
More recently, FUUSN members have been protesting outside an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) detention center in Burlington, Mass. The protests, which were started in April by Jared and Laurie Berezin, have become a weekly event, taking place every Wednesday from 11AM.
Many people are brought to the facility expecting to be processed that day, but are instead being held overnight, and in some cases for multiple weeks, according to Amelia LeClair, 74, a member of FUUSN who has participated in anti-I.C.E. protests.
“We’re doing whatever we can to make [I.C.E. employees] aware that what they’re doing is just so completely illegal and inhumane,” LeClair said.
Emily Levine is the chief of advocacy at 2Life Communities, an organization that operates retirement communities in Massachusetts.
“It’s hard to get older,” said Levine, “so while we view it as a team sport, it doesn’t mean we diminish the fact that it’s really hard and scary, and sometimes being active and engaged and vocal is one of the best ways you can be countering that.”
More than 700 residents at 2Life Communities, which has two campuses in Newton, have increased their recent political activity, including a visit to the Massachusetts State House, where seniors distributed more than 60 pieces of anti-agism artwork to policy makers.
“They think we’re dead, they think we’re just waiting to die, they think we’re sad and useless, but you know what I think I am? I think I’m tenacious, I think I’m powerful, I think I’m unique,” Levine said, expressing how many seniors in 2Life Communities felt.
From her experience with groups visiting the State House, Levine said that many seniors ask direct questions when they meet with elected officials. Some push politicians about the scarcity and affordability of retirement communities, and others ask the politicians why they haven’t visited their campuses.
This activism extends beyond 2Life. At Cabot Park Village, 106 seniors ages 55 and older held a “Declaration of Resistance Rally” in August, where they created and held signs to protest the current administration and express support for U.S. democracy. Many residents who participated in this event also participated in No Kings protests, held every Saturday at noon in Newton Centre, and they are often involved in calling and writing legislators.
“They’re afraid of losing their Social Security benefits, they’re afraid that the president’s going to take away their Medicare benefits,” said Todd Raymond, executive director of Cabot Park Village. “So, they’re concerned from a healthcare perspective and from an income perspective.”
Seniors at 2Life have joined protests against presidential immunity, while also participating in political letter-writing campaigns. During their recent State House visit, residents confronted politicians about why thousands of seniors lack access to safe retirement housing.
Local issues have also galvanized seniors. 2Life residents have organized against a change made by the 2019 MBTA Better Bus Project that eliminated stops at Nahanton Street and Winchester Street on the MBTA #52 bus route. Without those stops, Opus Newton and Coleman House seniors, along with other residents in the area, must walk 1.3 miles to reach the closest bus stop.
Levine believes that seniors have power, in part, because they have wisdom many younger people lack.
“Aging is a universal experience, and you don’t lose your value as you get older,” she said. “Let’s talk about harnessing the capacity that seniors have … how do you leverage them as a resource, and how do you think about their wisdom and knowledge and expertise and time lived as something we can learn from?”
Koya Weiss is majoring in journalism at Boston University. His work for Fig City News is through the BU Newsroom program, which pairs students with local news organizations.
