DERBY LINE, Vt. (WCAX) – Americans and Canadians gathered along the U.S.-Canada border at the Haskell Free Library this weekend, standing on opposite sides of the boundary in a joint demonstration.
Demonstrators held signs and waved flags criticizing deportations and immigration enforcement by ICE. Others voiced opposition to escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The group calls itself the “Singers of Resistance.” They gathered outside the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, a historic building that sits directly on the U.S.-Canada border.
For more than a century, the library has symbolized friendship between the two countries. A solid black line runs across the floor inside the building marking the international boundary.
Recent U.S. border restrictions have limited how Canadians can access the building, now requiring them to enter from a separate door.
Mike McCleese, the protest’s lead organizer, referenced the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the gathering.
“When the Rev. Martin Luther King spoke about building a Beloved Community — this is what he meant,” McCleese said. “Being in the streets together — all different races, cultures, countries — this is the Beloved Community.”
During the gathering, participants stood on their respective sides of the border and sang songs, using music to show solidarity.
