By Larisa Manescu
On the van ride back to Austin from the Rio Grande Valley, someone holds up the front page of local paper The Monitor and points to the headline of interest “First major demonstration against proposed wall held at historic chapel.”
Below is a photograph representing a couple dozen of the hundreds of protesters that marched on the levee along the Rio Grande River in Mission, Texas just the day before, the very levee where plans for a border wall would cut off community access to La Lomita Chapel.
“Major demonstration” is right.
The weekend’s border wall resistance events drew the attention of national, state, and local media, including the New York Times, Associated Press, and The Texas Tribune, to the southern tip of Texas. Sleep deprivation made it difficult to process the whirlwind of the last 48 hours, which included loading up a 12-seater van in Austin with Sierra Club staff and volunteers, as well as other environmental activists, to attend a rally at La Lomita Chapel on Saturday and a protest hike at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday.
Foggy early morning procession from Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church to La Lomita Mission Chapel in Mission, Texas (Photo credit: Ling Zhu)
The combination of our close quarters and marching in solidarity turned strangers into close friends. Together, we saw the gathering of hundreds of people spreading a common message of unity, celebrating the Valley for what it is to so many: A home, not a war zone. 
A human wall protesting the border wall planned for the levee running along the Rio Grande River, photographed from the Hawk Tower in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
(Photo Credit: Lone Star Chapter Director Reggie James)
And yet, after a post-rally nap on Saturday, we woke up to the gut-wrenching news of the domestic terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, fueled by the very hate, racism, and division we stood against a few hours earlier. We heard the president, who we knew wouldn’t offer any words of comfort to a hurting nation, condemn hatred, bigotry, and violence “on many sides.” We tried to stay off our phones to avoid the dark, paralyzing tunnel of social media, and focus on the community we had fostered and the intention at hand.
Sierra Club staff, volunteers and friends in Mission, Texas (Photo credit: Ling Zhu)
But now there’s time to reflect. And upon reflection, I reinforce my belief in the invaluable power and peace found in grassroots organizing. It’s time to take your rage, your hurt, and your sadness and join us in the fight for justice. Whether we met you down in the Valley this weekend and heard you express that you want to get more involved, or you’ve stumbled across this blog with no idea of this weekend’s events, we can point you in the right direction for next steps.
Take a look at the work of the Sierra Club Borderlands team, dedicated specifically to border issues, and take action on our No Border Wall campaign page by adding your voice to the sea of voices telling Congress to say no to this unnecessary monument of division.