(WSB photo: Marjorie Prince during a solo protest this summer)

By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Driving or riding past the corner of 35th and Edmunds, near Providence Mount St. Vincent (WSB sponsor), you might have noticed someone standing on the corner, holding a sign in quiet protest. From stricter gun legislation to ending the war in Gaza, many issues have kept Marjorie Prince standing in vigil every day for nearly seven months, protesting what she calls the Trump Administration’s “active dismantling” of the United States.

We first met Prince, a former political-science professor and lifelong Democrat whose experience protesting stretches back to the 1968 Nashville Civil Rights protests, this summer. Since then, something has changed. Prince isn’t alone any more.

(Photo by Kathryn Rawle)

For weeks, she’s been joined by a larger group of friends and activists every Monday, each inspired in their own way by watching her protest. As temperatures drop, and even when reception from some is colder than the weather, the group continues to protest because, as protester and former journalist Kathy Rawle put it, “We found our community here.”

The idea of gathering with Prince on her vigil started with organizers Mary Jo Bukovik and Story Squires, both members of Postcards 4 Democracy, which gathers in West Seattle weekly to write and send notes to voters in undecided and underrepresented areas across the country.

Both organizers met Prince during their time working at The Mount, and what started as a conversation over lunch one day quickly evolved into Mondays With Marjorie. Every Monday, from 3:00 to 3:30 pm on the corner of 35th and Edmunds, anyone is welcome to join Prince in protest.

“Marjorie is an inspiration,” said Bukovik, in between drivers honking to express support while passing the group this pas Monday. Sally, another protester, keeps track of every honk they get- some days over 300. Bukovik believes the protest vigil is important to keep the issues they care about in the forefront of people’s minds, and hopefully, she said, inspire them to get out and protest too. “Everybody needs to do something.”

Rawle, who helped start Postcards 4 Democracy in 2017, says it’s all about finding your passion. “Find your lane,” she said, “get in it, do it, and then pass it along to someone else. Talk to the people you know, make sure they know what’s going on, because sometimes that’s the hardest thing to do.”

Also out in protest on Monday was Heidi, who found her lane in Mondays with Marjorie. This kind of protesting is more her speed than larger, louder rallies, she said. In addition to her sign, she also brought backup in the form of the group’s resident protest pups.

Squires, who helped start the meetings with Bukovik, still remembers seeing Prince’s door at The Mount covered in political slogans, long before the two started protesting together. Since then, both Prince and Bukovik have inspired her to think about protesting critically. For over 200 days, Prince’s quiet dedication has continued to draw a crowd, and amidst the chatter and new friendships being built around her, Squires pointed out that she remains, for the most part, silent. Focused on her work. That, more than anything else, is her biggest inspiration.

“When we gather out here, there’s a lot of chatting,” Squires said, “but if you ever look at Marjorie, she doesn’t talk. Every person who drives by, every person who honks, she’s looking at them. She’s looking at people.”