In the early dawn light of Juneteenth, a group of brave people from stood outside Mitch McConnell’s house in Kentucky to put him on notice. They sang. They shouted. They banged pots and pans. They held up signs and stood stoic. Tensions were high. It’s not a joke to show up on the doorstep of a major politician like Mitch McConnell — not when cops are disappearing people off the streets in places like Portland when they don’t like what they see. Sunrisers demanded that Mitch McConnell “wake up” and start serving the people of Kentucky, starting with demanding justice for Breonna Taylor. If Breonna Taylor couldn’t sleep, why should Mitch?
This idea was inspired by the Wide Awakes, pre-civil war abolitionist movement of 100,000-500,000 young people demanding urgent action on slavery. The Republican establishment complained of these “infant politicians” who wanted to move too fast, whose ranks were made of “the mechanic, the laborer, or the clerk” instead of “the intelligent classes.” However, the Wide Awakes were vital in boosting youth turnout in the election and securing Republicans the majority they needed to pursue the abolition of slavery and a visionary Reconstruction.