LEBANON — One of the wide glass windows of Lucky’s Coffee Garage was plastered with “Community love notes” on Friday morning. Written by staff and customers, they bore messages of solidarity with a nationwide strike decrying the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.
“Immigrants make America great,” read one.
“Everyone welcome here,” said another.
Across the country on Friday, hundreds of advocacy organizations organized and promoted the protest in communities across the country — pushing for “no work, no school, no shopping,” with people opting not to go to work or school, and shuttering their businesses for the day, the Associated Press reported.
Dozens of organizations endorsed the National Shutdown, including 50501, a decentralized grassroots movement whose volunteers routinely host anti-ICE and anti-Trump administration protests across the country.
“Every day, ICE, Border Patrol and other enforcers of Trump’s racist agenda are going into our communities to kidnap our neighbors and sow fear. It is time for us to all stand up together in a nationwide shutdown and say enough is enough!,” read a statement on National Shutdown’s website.
The protest came less than a week after immigration agents fatally shot a second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.
For the most part, small businesses in the Upper Valley such as Lucky’s and Putnam’s Vine/yard, a cafe and wine bar in White River Junction, decided to stay open on Friday and to participate in the National Shutdown in other ways. Upper Valley students also remained in classes.
Lucky’s pledged to match donations from customers who chose to round up the cost of their order to raise money for Immigrant Defense Project, a New York-based activist nonprofit that offers training for immigrants, educators and lawyers and runs a hotline for immigrants who have been arrested or convicted of crimes.
“We’re a community hub for people,” Izzy Parrott, the cafe’s manager, said in a Friday interview.
As of 11 a.m. on Friday, the cafe had raised about $300 in customer donations.
“My mom is an immigrant…We’re all immigrants here,” said Meghan Rizzi, of Lebanon, who rounded up her order.
“The racism going on (in the U.S.) is crazy,” she added.
The cafe also offered free drip coffee to “fuel the community,” read a sign on the pastry case.
On the far end of the counter, beside the espresso machine, was a stack of markers and pink note cards for customers who wanted to pen their own “Community love notes.”
Like Lucky’s, Putnam’s offered free tea and coffee to patrons who stopped by on Friday. A long wooden table was also stocked with cards, pens and QR code that linked to 5calls.org, a civic engagement group that provides letter-writing prompts that patrons could use to urge their representatives to defund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
As of Friday afternoon, the Senate was still working out a budget deal to avoid a partial government shutdown. Democrats have sought to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, in order to enact reforms in response to concerns over immigration enforcement tactics.
A handful of people had written letters by noon on Friday, Putnam’s daytime manager Julianne Borger said.
Meanwhile, Bridget Cushman, owner of Gear Again, an outdoor gear consignment shop in downtown White River Junction, decided to close her small business for the day.
“I am participating in the Nationwide Shutdown because it is important to stand together during this scary time,” Cushman wrote in a Friday email. “Money is power. By closing today we want to remind people that, all business, big and small, comprise the power of the people. Spend your money with intention.”
Other Upper Valley businesses that acknowledged the National Shutdown also pledged a portion of their proceeds to nonprofit organizations that assist immigrants.
In Woodstock, Mon Vert Cafe, located on Central Street, announced it would stay open and donate $1 of every sandwich people purchased to the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund, a statewide organization that raises money to provide immigrants with legal counsel.
“As a small business, we will be staying open, but still want to show support and contribute,” cafe staff wrote in an announcement posted to social media late Thursday afternoon and shared on Listservs.
Yankee Bookshop, which is also on Central Street, announced that it would donate all proceeds from damaged books sold by the pound and 20% of all proceeds from Friday through Sunday to Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund and Migrant Justice, according to a Friday morning social media post. They also closed from noon to 1 p.m. to join the daily, pro-democracy, anti-Trump protest at Tribou Park in downtown Woodstock.
“We wrestled with being closed today, but we’re a small business and I think people need a place to go,” co-owner Kristian Preylowski said in a phone interview. “We’re a safe space so we wanted to stay open, but close for that hour to stand in solidarity and let people know where we stand in case they didn’t already know.”
When he got to Tribou Park a little after noon, Preylowski said there were around 40 people there.
“For me it meant a lot to get out there,” said Preylowski, who lived in Minneapolis from the late 1990s through the mid-2000s. “I’m really proud of our town and the fact that they’ve stood out there for 358 days no matter the weather.”
Brownsville Butcher & Pantry said it would donate a portion of Friday’s proceeds to Migrant Justice, a Burlington-based organization that supports immigrants who are employed as farmworkers in Vermont.
“We do this to remain aware, mindful, and accountable, and to help ensure the future we believe in for our community continues to exist,” staff wrote in a statement posted to social media Friday morning.
Wolf Tree, a cocktail bar in downtown White River Junction, similarly announced on Thursday afternoon that it would remain open Friday, and donate 10% of proceeds for the day to the Vermont Legal Defense Fund.
“Calling this a difficult decision wouldn’t be truthful because opening our doors tomorrow, on what will likely be a heavy day in a series of already heavy days, is what our bar is all about — providing a space for our community to feel safe,” staff wrote in a social media post. “Full stop.”
Upper Valley school districts contacted Friday said attendance numbers remained typical for this time of year. Those districts included the Lebanon School District, Woodstock-based Mountain Views Supervisory Union, the Mascoma Valley Regional School District and the Hartford School District, school officials reported.
“Our students have not asked questions about what is happening at the national level although I am sure they are aware,” Tina Fleming, principal at Mascoma Valley Regional High School in West Canaan, wrote in an email. “We have not had any walkouts related to this.”
Anti-ICE protesters, on behalf of Indivisible, a national grassroots movement with chapters across the country, have scheduled a rally on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon at the intersection of Route 25 and 5 in Bradford, Vt.