“You’re not alone.” Mahoning Valley activists taking concerns to Columbus, D.C.
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Dirk Hermance has been an activist for 55 years, participating in his first demonstration as a teenager and now serves as a board member for the Mahoning Valley Freedom Fighters.
“I was politically aware at a very young age; that was due to my parents, in part, because of the civil rights movement among other things. Then Vietnam followed that,” he said. “Being an activist is a commitment.”
On June 25, the Mahoning Valley Freedom Fighters aim to meet with local legislators at the statehouse in Columbus as well as D.C. and ensure northeast Ohioans’ rights are protected.
“The intent is to go down there and ask them very serious questions about what’s going on in the state and what the GOP-dominated legislature is doing to the people of Ohio, who are very concerned,” Hermance said. “A group of people are going to go down to Columbus, and another group is also going to D.C. again.” 
“Keep legislators accountable”
Hermance said members of the Mahoning Valley Freedom Fighters are concerned after the Ohio’s state Senate approved a budget eliminating the Ohio Elections Commission.
“They’re making actions to try and much more heavily restrict voter access,” he said. “They’re following the SAVE act as proposed in the federal government, where people will actually be denied their right to vote. That’s a very negative effect on Ohio citizens.”
Activists will be urging legislators against removing secure ballot drop boxes and excessive ID requirements.
Hermance said another concern is proposed cuts to food assistance programs like SNAP and Medicaid, in addition to a $600-million grant for a new football stadium for the Cleveland Browns.
“We are seeing people who, especially if they’re disabled or handicapped - if they’re veterans or elderly, are realizing the danger that is being put forward at the national level could be to them, their families, their children,” he said. “We expect to keep legislators accountable.”
Response from residents during recent demonstrations
During a recent protest, Hermance said he got to meet a 92-year-old woman, as well as several other protesters, who’d never joined a non-violent demonstration before.
“They kept saying, ‘Am I doing this right?’” Hermance said. “We said, ‘No, you’re here. You’re doing it right. You’re here to express your first amendment right as a citizen to speak out.’ If it’s going to draw out a 92-year-old that’s never protested anything, you’ve got everybody’s attention.”
Reports estimate between four and six million people participated in No Kings one-day nationwide non-violent demonstrations on June 14.
In the Youngstown area, advocates said 1,200 participated in their No Kings peaceful demonstration outside of the Mahoning County Courthouse.
“Non violent movement succeeds because the strength that you have in a non violent movement allows others to feel more strength, and if they feel that strength too, and they see it visibly in what is going on, they also pick up the courage and strength to come forward and to stand up,” Hermance said.
He said he hopes more Generation X and Z voters will come participate in future protests.
“You can’t isolate and say it’s not going to affect me. That’s completely not true. What happens on a global level affects everyone all the way down the chain,” Hermance said. “What’s happening in the world right this minute is a direct threat to them. The most important thing we do is we let people know they’re not alone, and that’s extremely important, because if you’re going to stand up against something that’s not authority but tyranny, you need to know that you’re not alone.”