Dignity + Respect
by Rachel from Grand Rapids, Michigan
A Signs of the Time conversation with Rachel from Grand Rapids, Michigan
SOTT: How do the statements on your sign about dignity and respect for all and being the light relate to each other?
RACHEL: I’m a social work student. I’ve been studying all the ways dignity and respect are applied in systems and structures – and all the ways they are not applied. It’s a universal truth that respect is owed to everyone.
SOTT: Who is your message intended for?
RACHEL: So, my audience is other protesters. It’s a reminder that dignity and respect apply to all people. So be the light while we are out there. This sign is not so much a protest sign as it is an encouragement sign.
SOTT: Why do you think encouragement is needed?
RACHEL: I know people are wondering if protesting is American. I’m validating that it is. It’s a call to be the light. If we aren’t living out the light in ways that are available to our head, hearts, and hands, we are not living out our full humanity. Protest isn’t available to everyone. So we who can should answer the call.
Editor’s Note: Rachel participated in a “Speak the Truth in Love” sign-making workshop that her church’s Justice Committee sponsored the morning of the March 28, 2026 No Kings 3 rally. Accompanied by songs from a justice-themed playlist, participants sat at large round tables, shared stories, and created signs from a faith perspective.
Signs of the Time is an all-volunteer collective that cares deeply about this fraught moment in time. We celebrate the creative ways people are demonstrating at rallies around the country by taking photos of protest signs and uncovering the stories behind them.
By posting protest signs/stories to our media channels, we hope to:
amplify the originality and ferocity of purpose of each sign’s message;
honor the personal stories that inspired the making of the signs;
elevate each sign-makers’ passion as an urgent call to action; and
create an archive of citizens’ resistance against the current administration.
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