200 march for community, veterans, and education in Rapid City

RAPID CITY – Despite the cold weather on January 25, with temperatures just above freezing, the March for Democracy proceeded as planned. Previously post­poned due to snow and sub­zero temperatures, around 200 people participated, showing their dedication to democracy.

Attendees, bundled in warm clothing, gathered at Memorial Park’s bandshell to listen to organizers before starting their walk. Many carried hand-made signs ad­dressing issues such as vac­cine availability, LGBTQ rights, Roe v. Wade, sepa­ration of church and state, Alzheimer’s research, ed­ucation, science, equality, justice, sensible gun laws, veterans’ support, planetary health, and human rights. They expressed concern for democracy and opposition to hatred.

The march was organized by a private group of indi­viduals who care about the community and the Con­stitution. It was well-orga­nized with guest speakers.

Rapid City resident Donna Robinson was first to speak. Addressing the crowd on a small mobile sound system, she said it’s time to speak out. “We must recognize the truth, and it must be told, not because we will be successful. We may or may not be and may not be as quickly as we wish. We can not stay silent. We are a small community, but we are a strong community. We need to make good trouble,” said Robinson. Robinson used a famous quote from the late representative John Lewis about making “good trouble” coined during the height of the Civil Rights movement to peacefully confront and challenge un­just systems. “This is what a real democracy looks like,” she said.

Next to speak was Rapid City resident Suzan Nolan. “We all march for different reasons. But we march for the same cause, to defend our rights and our future. If you believe the decisions about your body should remain yours, that books belong in libraries not bon­fires, that wealth is a right for the wealthy not a priv­ilege, if you believe in the power of free speech and protest to sustain democra­cy or if you want an econ­omy that works for the peo­ple who power it, then this march is for you.”

Rapid City resident Dor­othy Brewick, address­ing the crowd, said she didn’t like having to be at a march on such a brutal­ly cold Saturday morning. “But we have to be here. We are like-minded peo­ple gathered together, and we are here to,” she paused and speaking slowly said, “stand up and speak up.” These words she repeated throughout her speech as a call and response with the crowd.

“More than 55 years ago, the first official moratorium to end fighting in Vietnam march, took place all over America.” Brewick is ref­erencing what is considered to be the largest anti-war demonstrations in American history – the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, which was a large-scale protest, with millions of people participating in marches, rallies, and teach-ins to demand the end to the conflict. It’s estimated that more than two million people took part in the Oc­tober 15, 1969, rally.

“Some of you may remember that day. The seeds of that event were planted in an unsuccessful presidential campaign of Eugene McCarthy.” She remembered the effort to bring sons home from the war and how it grew. “It moved from college campuses to the main streets of thousands of communi­ties all over America. Over 15 million people of all ages, races, faiths, and political parties had had enough. It was time to,” again she paused and again the crowd joined her to say, “stand up and speak up. I was one of those people.”

“During the last 55 years we have come together again and again. In doing so, we have learned an important lesson; when the sit­uation requires action, we must stand up. That’s why we are here today whether if it’s education, climate change, gay rights, women rights or immigrants. Maybe it’s birth right citizenship, lawfare tac­tics, an independent justice system or defending democracy abroad. Whatever brought you here today, we must,” Brewick paused, and on cue, having energized the crowd who joined with her saying, “stand up and speak up.

“Whether it’s childcare, health­care or the murdering of Indige­nous women, it does not matter what your passion is, what matters is that we come together. That we support each other. So today, to­gether, we are going to stand up and speak. We must not stay si­lent. Our voices must be heard. When the country needs us we will stand and speak up.”

Invigorated, marchers set out to walk to the veterans memorial to hear the first guest speaker.

Rapid City resident Salyiah Ter­ry told Native Sun News Today why she came. “I’m here because there is so much division still in the country especially in the last few days with current events. I just want to show that we are all together, we’re all one. We all have our own concerns about what is going on and we are all in this country together. I want to see our country thrive, but I want to see everybody have a part of that.”

Many carried signs in support of continued government funding for South Dakota Public Broad­casting (SDPB) as a proposed cut looms over the not-for-profit pub­lic service broadcasting organi­zation. Outgoing Governor Kristi Noem last month proposed cut­ting SDPB’s funding by $3.5 mil­lion dollars saying that it gets too much money per capita than other broadcasting outlets. State law­makers held the first of two public hearings on the state funding. The next is scheduled for February 7

“I am so impressed at the peo­ple who came today in the cold weather,” said Hill City resident Susan Shierbeck. “We have got to stand up, people. We’ve got chaos happening again and please open your eyes and try to see it.” Shier­beck said that so many people are stressed with just the day-to-day living – getting kids to school, get­ting the groceries, paying the bills – just trying to take care of every­day life that they aren’t listening to the news and instead are listen­ing to entertainment. “If everyone would just expand their sources of their information, I don’t see how anyone could not understand what is going on right now.”

The crowd gathered at the Black Hills Veterans Monument where John Tsitrian, co-publisher and editor of the South Dakota Stan­dard, addressed issues concerning veterans. Tsitrian, who served as a Marine for 18 months in Vietnam, stated, “While I was there, I decid­ed that this is so much nonsense that I’m going to dedicate the rest of my life, if I ever have a public voice, to calling things as I see them.” He affirmed his continued adherence to this principle.

“What I want to talk to you about today though, is not direct­ly affecting veterans per se but impacting all veterans enrolled in the VA (Veterans Administration) health system. There is an insidi­ous movement to privatize the VA healthcare system. Now that the Trump Administration has taken over, I believe this will accelerate.” This movement, he explained, in­volves providing veterans with ac­cess to community healthcare out­side of the VA system. “Although this may seem beneficial at first glance, it could potentially deplete the VA’s resources and result in veterans being dispersed into the general community without spe­cialized and coordinated care.”

Tsitrian emphasized that this shift could fundamentally alter the nature of veterans’ healthcare, moving away from dedicated VA services toward a generalized ap­proach within community health­care systems.

Tsitrian said that in 2019 the VA spent 13 million dollars on com­munity healthcare meaning the VA paid for veterans to get healthcare within their respective communi­ties. “In 2024 they spent 26 mil­lion. So, it doubled. That is com­ing out of the VA budget which last year was $125 billion dollars. You are talking about some pretty substantial numbers that are being drawn from the VA and given to the private sector.”

Schools and universities have been concerned about a pause in funding at least until mid-Febru­ary while the government investi­gates whether programs align with Trump’s policy priorities. As the march continued around the park, speakers included teacher Hey­wood Robinson who spoke about the price of ignorance. “Education is the most sacred trust that a com­munity can give to its future.” He said classrooms are already poorly heated in winter and too hot in the summer. The buildings in such a state of disrepair it would be bet­ter to rebuild. He said the voucher system, which has been promot­ed across South Dakota, has si­phoned already sparse funds from the public and put it into the hands of corporate education companies. “It should be obvious that systems that are for profit are not as cheap as systems that are not for profit.”

As the march came to a close, participants felt a renewed sense of unity and determination. The speakers’ passionate appeals res­onated deeply with the crowd, highlighting the importance of community action and informed advocacy. Amidst the myriad of challenges faced by veterans, ed­ucators, and everyday citizens, the march served as a powerful reminder that collective effort and awareness can drive mean­ingful change. The call to remain vigilant and engaged in the dem­ocratic process echoed as march­ers dispersed, carrying with them a shared commitment to stand up, speak out, and make their voices heard.

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

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