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Demonstrators lined a busy intersection in Brentwood, an upscale community 10 miles south of Nashville, on Sunday, Jan. 11 to protest the killing of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.

Renee Good, a mother of three, was killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fired through the windshield of her car, according to videos of the fatal incident.

The January 7 killing of an American citizen by an ICE agent ignited protests in more than 1,000 cities across the U.S. in the days following the shooting.

I'm Rhonda Miller. I walked among about 150 demonstrators at a commercial intersection in Brentwood and talked to some protestors, who ranged from an 80-year-old military veteran to a mom who brought her four-year-old daughter.

This is what democracy sounds like one Sunday afternoon in January in Brentwood, Tennessee. I'm Rhonda Miller.

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Concerned about cuts to Medicaid, the possible closing of area hospitals, cuts to SNAP food programs for children, immigration, the impending worker shortage affecting farmers, tariffs, the cost of groceries, reproductive freedom and threats to American democracy, about 70 people showed up at the Goodlettsville Branch of Nashville Public Library on Aug. 20.

The Town Hall held at the library 15 miles north of Nashville was planned as a way for area residents to get information about issues in Congress from Tennessee's 6th District Congressman Republican John Rose.

The only presence of Congressman Rose was a photo on an empty chair in front of the room. He was a 'no show' even though an organizer of the event said speaker requests were filed on the Congressman's website and emails and phone calls were made to his office. There was no reply.

So the group got information from two panelists, Kiran Sreepada and Marissa King, Tennesseans with expertise in government issues.

Longtime nurse Mary Jane Bidwell said if Rose was serving his constituents, he wouldn't be afraid to show up in person. Bidwell said as an advocate for the most vulnerable, including transgender people and residents on Medicaid, "Shame on me if I don't speak up and speak out."

Kiran Sreepada said one of his current advocacy projects is working with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. He said many immigrants in the state are scared due to ICE raids and because some who have been granted asylum hearings are picked up when they show up for their court date.

Tomesia Day said one of the issues she's most concerned about is reproductive health for women.

Twenty-year-old Trent Benge, membership director for Tennessee Young Democrats, said he's concerned about the attack on democracy. He said he's also keeping up the fight for his 16-year-old transgender brother, who can't get the care he needs in Tennessee. So his father, mother and brother moved to Colorado earlier this year.

Organizations supporting the area Town Hall meetings, and efforts to make Tennessee a more inclusive and equitable place for all, include Indivisible Nashville, Indivisible Sumner County, East Nashtivists and the National Women's Political Caucus of Tennessee.

A 6th Congressional District Town Hall Follow Up will be held at Tailgate Brew Works in Hendersonville on Thursday, Sept. 4.

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An estimated 500 people protested at Freedom Corner at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on June 14. The protest was one of about 2,000 demonstrations nationwide that brought an estimated five million people to the streets.

The “No Kings” mass mobilization opposes authoritarian measures by President Donald Trump and his administration.

The Cape Girardeau protest fanned out from a central point at Freedom Corner around a replica of the Stature of Liberty. The statue was placed there by the Boy Scouts of America in 1950.

Cape Girardeau, a town on the Mississippi River about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis, has a veterans’ home that cares for 150 people. The "No Kings" protest at Cape Girardeau included many military veterans, easily identified by messages on signs or T-shirts.

“No Kings” demonstrators at Cape Girardeau included a few 17-year-olds eager to vote in next election, some families with young children and many people in their 60s and 70s stunned by the Trump administration's attack on the foundations of democracy. Concerns expressed by signs and conversations included the administration's failure to honor court decisions, rounding up immigrants without due process, and budget cuts to programs in healthcare, nutrition and veterans benefits.

The June 14 protests across the U.S. were on the day of a military parade in Washington, D.C., organized by Trump, that cost up to an estimated $45 million in taxpayer money.

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