Speaker

Nancy Thompson lay awake on fateful night on August 5, 2021, consumed by frustration and helplessness as the Texas Education Agency (T.E.A.) issued its disheartening “guidance” for the upcoming school year. Her anxiety heightened by her unvaccinated youngest child’s recent encounter with a mysterious virus, she realized her children were left vulnerable with little protection at school, save for the KN95 masks she provided.

On the morning of Friday August 6th, she wrote down Mothers Against Greg Abbott on a Post-It note, drawing inspiration from movements like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Moms Demand Action. So she grabbed the only two poster board sharpies she owned (good thing they were red and blue) and wrote it down. One line in blue, one line in red, one line in blue, one line in red. She stepped back and looked at the poster and recognized the acronym, MAGA and said to herself “A MAGA I can finally believe in!”

In case that message didn’t fly, Nancy wrote on the other side “Abbott Pro-Guns Pro-Covid Anti-Children.” With a determined spirt, she readied herself and drove to the Texas Capitol in downtown Austin. A protest of one — Mother Against Greg Abbott.

Nancy posted her picture on a Facebook board and Twitter. Passersby took her picture and posted it to their socials. Within hours Nancy was not alone, but hundreds of people were liking and retweeting the images and message. A week later, she was no longer a lone mother against Greg Abbott, but one of thousands of Mothers and Others galvanizing to fight for democracy and decency in Texas and America.

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