As Steve Wertheim reflected on the large crowds of protesters that marched and rallied across the United States on Oct. 18 to speak up against policies and actions performed by the government, many of which the demonstrators view as overstepping the bounds of a democratic country, he resonated with a quote made during a famous rally many years ago.
PHOTOS: Thousands attend ‘No Kings’ rallies in North East Ohio
“‘I prayed with my feet’ is attributed to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a theologian and civil rights activist who said this after marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Alabama for the voting rights march,” Wertheim told the Cleveland Jewish News on Oct. 21. “The quote means his physical participation and activism were his form of prayer. I certainly feel like I prayed with my feet on (Oct. 18).”
Wertheim, a University Heights resident, was alongside “several thousand” others in Solon on Oct. 18 for the second wave of ‘No Kings’ protests. The demonstrations are largely geared toward President Donald Trump and the policies and moves his administration has performed since he was sworn into office on Jan. 20. The rallies are named in reference to what many view as monarch-like behavior from the democratic elected official.
But Wertheim, who participated in the first round of protests in June, said that he saw the protest as something “bigger than one politician or political party.”…