Special to The Truth
The Lucas County Democrats, Toledo Persists and Toledo Troublemakers gathered Lucas County residents, local leaders, social service agencies, small businesses and other community stakeholders together for the purpose of providing the practical resources, education and community fellowship needed to resist the rise of fascism in America.
The 2025 inaugural Resistance and Resilience Fair framed resistance and resilience through a celebratory and joyful lens with the help of resilience workshop partners, small business vendors, social service agencies and subject matter experts giving informative presentations on topics such as “Protest Safety” and “The Spirit of Resilience.”
”Lucas County Dems are proud to stand with our partners to provide a space for reflection, self-care and action. We will stand together in resistance and resilience.” said Lucas County Democratic Party Chair, Schuyler Beckwith.
Toledo Troublemakers leader and organizer, Heather Spies, echoed these sentiments with a sense of urgency. “Now more than ever we need to bring our communities together to stand against and provide the tools and education to survive the current fascist political climate we are living in. This is what the Resistance and Resilience Fair is l about” Heather said.
Toledo Persists leader and organizer, Melissa Portala, stated, “Toledo Persists is proud to be a sponsor of the Resistance and Resilience Fair. As we continue to fight the billionaire fascist takeover of the USA, we invite others to find joy and solidarity with the many community groups attending.”
Additionally, attendees were encouraged to bring school supplies to donate to TPS Schools and food pantry items for Equality Toledo, who were in attendance to accept those items and volunteered for the event.