'Good Trouble' Rallies Planned in Berkshires

02:02PM / Tuesday, July 15, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Rallies honoring the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis will be held on Thursday in several Berkshire communities.

The "Good Trouble" rallies are being held on the anniversary of the Georgian congressman's passing at age 80 in 2020. The name refers to Lewis' oft-repeated phrase to disrupt through nonviolent means.

Indivisible Mass Coalition, Mass Indivisible Groups, Massachusetts 50501, and allies will join with groups across the country to honor the legacy of Civil Rights icon.

Some 50 rallies are being planned across the state, including in Great Barrington, Pittsfield and Williamstown to protest any attacks on the Constitution by the Trump administration; the estimated $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and food benefits; the $150 billion allocated to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the gutting of federal agencies like the National Weather Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Organizers for "Good Trouble" estimate that tens of thousands of protesters will attend rallies across the commonwealth, and millions of others will attend rallies across the nation.

• Great Barrington, 4 to 5:30 p.m.: South County Resistance, in conjunction with Left Field, will hold its rally in front of Town Hall. It will feature a performance by local musician, lecturer and speaker Doug Mishkin.

• Pittsfield, 7 to 9 p.m.: Hosted by Stand Up, Berkshires, NAACP, Indivisible Berkshires, Berkshire Democratic Brigades at Park Square with Shirley Edgerton of the NAACP as speaker. It will include a performance by the Pittsfield Community Gospel Choir, a candlelit vigil (phones or battery-operated candles or tea lights only) and stroll around the park.

• West Stockbridge, 4:40 to 6 p.m.: front lawn of West Stockbridge Congregational Church.

• Williamstown, 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.: Greylock Together will project images, speeches and performances on First Congregational Church in partnership with the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Bring a chair.

Find where rallies are being held in Massachusetts here and in other parts of the country here.

Tags: protests,

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Pittsfield Council Revisiting DEI Office Rename

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:11PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The conversation about the DEI office renaming that was halted by a charter objection will resume on Tuesday.

The City Council will discuss a request from Mayor Peter Marchetti to rename the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

It proposes to rename the DEI office to the Office of Equity, Access, and Opportunity and merge the Human Rights Commission and Affirmative Action Committee into an Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission.

The Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee supported the changes in August, and in September, Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham delayed the vote with a charter objection.

Pittsfield's City Code prohibits charter states that "if a single member present objects to the taking of the vote, the vote shall be postponed until the next meeting of the city council." It also stipulates that at least four members must object if it is an emergency measure.

Cunningham also submitted a petition, which was referred to O&R under Rule 27, to replace the DEI Office and the Human Rights Commission with an equity, access, and opportunity coordinator in the Department of Community Development, with formal complaints and Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action functions assigned to Human Resources.

At the last meeting, he spent more than an hour querying the mayor and chief diversity officer about functions and effectiveness of the department, wanting more quantitative data. Cunningham proposed an ordinance that he says keeps Pittsfield's commitment to equity, access, and opportunity, "refocuses it on measurable results for our residents, and delivers it at a fraction of the current cost."

Under this petition, the equity, access, and opportunity coordinator would be a $60,000 to $80,000 per year position.

The DEI Office's fiscal year 2027 budget was about $200,000 after cuts during budget season; $106,700 for the chief diversity officer and $58,000 for the administrative assistant. The coordinator would be appointed by the director of community development and the mayor.

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