Thursday Sept. 17, 2026
Reported by: Arch Hive
In the later afternoon on a Thursday you can hear cars honking and voices chanting, echoing down Market Street. These are not the sounds of frustrated commuters trying to get home after a long day, irate at the slow light or late yellow runners. It’s more of an acknowledgment of support, of camaraderie. Because every Thursday, at 4pm, on the top of Market St and Main, a group of people gather. They carry signs that read: “No Kings” “Ice Out” “Republican healthcare is scary” and other sentiments, depending on the news of the hour.
We sat down with two of the organizers of this group, Roz Moulton and Adam Irish, to chat about their weekly gathering:
ROZ: It's a cute story, how it started. We, my sister Lynne and I came armed with books by Timothy Snyder called On Tyranny. I purchased, I think, 180 of those books. And I decided that I was going to put inside, you know, information about where to get more information about what's going on. So I did that. I printed it out and put it in each of the books, and the idea was, you get this book and you pass it along. I put it in the little libraries…the little street libraries, gave them to friends, and then my sister and I decided we're just gonna walk down Main Street and see what businesses might want one. So we walked into Adam's store and we were talking for a while … and he was saying he was feeling a little isolated and just kind of on his own. So it was basically Adam's idea. He said, ‘what if we start a little protest?’
ADAM: There are so few people who are willing to engage with individuals directly today, and actually talk with human beings. So much of activism is confined to the Instagram sphere of just people shouting into the void or the echo chamber. And so it was really heartening for them to come in.
So, starting in September of last year, the three of them, Rozz, Adam, and Roz’s sister, Lynne, stood outside of the bank building on Main and Market, holding signs in protest of events they saw unjust happening throughout the country. Then, after Halloween, they decided to cross the street and go in front of Baptist Church for better visibility. The new spot came to be known as Freedom Corner.
Actually, Adam started doing this type of thing after the 2016 election, while living in Portsmouth, NH. Finding himself distraught about the actions of this administration’s first term, he would stand outside in the town square holding a white board inscribed with his latest concerns.
ADAM: Maybe I'd go out every week, maybe not, but I'd go out when things were bad, and I would just be alone standing in the square .. And it felt really good. You know, it felt really good to say what needed to be said and not care about, you know, because obviously you're gonna be judged doing that. But to get people to wake up to be cognizant that things aren't normal.
At first it was just the three of them, then, a few of Roz’s neighbors began showing up. Sometimes members of Stand Up Rhode Island, an activism collective of which Roz is a member, appear as well. The group stages public demonstrations and rallies across the state, partnering often with other coalitions, like Indivisible RI.
For Roz, the biggest issue at this moment is the upcoming election and getting the word out to participate in early voting. For her, that’s the best way to avoid any intrusion by nefarious entities who can scare voters away simply by their presence at the polls. Early voting might also help curb potential day-of election interference.
ROZ: (by voting early) They're bypassing any intrusion, like ICE intrusion or whatever. They're just going to their Town Hall or wherever their designated area is, and they're voting early. There's 20 days in Rhode Island that you have to vote early. And avoid that day of voting when, you know, the creeps might appear. So that's the message that right now: get out there and vote early.
The big question: Why are you doing it?
ROZ: Oh, that's a good question. Because I didn't want to hate myself on my deathbed. That's my main reason. I don't want to look back on this time and say, you know, you are a shithead for most of your life. politically. But I can't not do something now, and not feel really bad about myself. So I'm just doing what I can with people within my energy level. Like, character’s destiny. I have character's destiny.
ADAM: It's similar for me too. I feel like I just... I couldn't live with myself without doing something right now. And it's not, and it's not much. I mean it's not, we aren't doing anything revolutionary, or saving the world by going out there, but I do feel like, you know, as trite as it is, the butterfly effect, it does apply. You put something out in the world, and it all affects things in ways. Or maybe it doesn't affect things at all, but I really feel like putting a human face and a message really makes people wake up. And I think the atomization in our society is very much the cause of why we're politically just a mess. And so I think, even if it's a connection through a windshield, or just, ‘who is that freak on the street corner? Oh, he cares about the same thing I care about.’ That's a good thing.
Anything else you think we should know about what you're doing, or anything you would want to say?
ROZ: I guess an open invitation for folks to join us.
ADAM: Yeah, come on out!
ROZ: Vote your conscience. Like, people, if we haven't learned in the last 10 years that if you, if you're voting for policy, or if you're voting for lower prices, that's not gonna get you anywhere. You've gotta vote for the person's character and their potential. If you don't have that, you don't have anything. So, you know, that's the message. You know, for me, anyway. And I try to say that to any random person that I run into. Because I don't care anymore. I'm 70 years old. What are they gonna do to me? You know?
