Terrace Visibility Brigade
Wednesdays, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Terrace Visibility Brigade, a group of pro-democracy neighbors, displays timely political messages on banners and signs every Wednesday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 11th Avenue bridge in Windsor Terrace.
Like-minded people are welcome to participate.
Terrace Visibility Brigade is part of the nation-wide Visibility Brigade movement, which has one or more chapters in almost every state.
Margaret Neill, the founder of this chapter, explains the impetus and the continuing need for it.
My husband Don
and I have been doing this every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. for 16 weeks, taking a
break over the holidays. We are both artists who want to do our part to
help bring people together during this divisive time in our country.
I
got activated in the resistance during Trump’s second term. I started
learning about activism thru the great leaders at Target Majority on the Upper West Side, the Indivisible Leaders, Brooklyn Indivisible, and the
daily letters of Heather Cox Richardson and others, like Jessica Craven, who all advocated for working in your own neighborhood, hyperlocally.
Soon, I came upon The Visibility Brigade through a bridge action over the BQE by
Brooklyn Visibility, part of Indivisible Brooklyn. I decided to spread
the word on more bridges and to pick another bridge right in my own
neighborhood. And so, I registered and became the leader of the 11th Avenue bridge over the Prospect Expressway (between 18th and 19th St.) with the Nationwide Visibility Brigade. We are on the map.
There
are actions on McDonald Avenue at Fort Hamilton Parkway and Church Avenue and at Church Avenue on Ocean Parkway with Freedom Fridays, which I could also join, but I
thought I’d try to activate neighbors closer to me.
We
need to learn about each other and also come together during this
divisive time in our country. We all can learn that there are ways we
can push back and that we must. The words of Heather Cox Richardson ring
in my ears: there are more of us than them and we can help to build a
better future.
So, in that vein, I endeavor to bring joy and exuberance to
our resistance and help others know they are not alone.
More
and more people are joining. The kids really enjoy it. We usually have
home-baked cookies. Plenty of signs and hot chocolate.
Please follow
me on Instagram @terrace_visibilitybrigade, I just started the instagram
page a few days ago.
Likewise, I am also working on a food drive to help bring groceries to the food
pantry of The Center for Family Life in Sunset Park (https://www.centerforfamilylife.org/), a settlement-type nonprofit that is doing amazing work for the vibrant immigrant community all around us.
I
am noticing that people seem to find some relief in connecting their
feelings to action, and it’s great to be part of that transformation.
Sincerely,
Margaret
Get involved: Join us on the bridge every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. or look into https://indivisiblebrooklyn.org/ and https://www.visibilitybrigade.com/.
Location
11th Avenue Bridge
between 18th and 19th streets
above the Prospect Expressway
Windsor Terrace, Brooklym
