Daijiworld Media Network - Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Jun 2: With a combined age of 180 years and a lifetime of activism behind them, American couple Joseph (92) and Joyce Ellwanger (88) are far from slowing down. Veterans of the US civil rights movement, the duo continue to protest against what they call the growing threats to democracy under Donald Trump's leadership.

“Inaction and silence do not bring about change,” said Joseph, who walked with a cane at a recent rally in Milwaukee, protesting the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, accused of shielding an undocumented immigrant. Beside him stood Joyce, holding a sign that read “Hands Off Hannah.”

Married for over six decades, the couple has been on the front lines of movements for racial justice, anti-war campaigns, and immigrant rights. Joseph once marched with Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 and was the only white pastor leading an all-Black church in Alabama during the civil rights era. Joyce, meanwhile, was jailed for 50 days in the 1980s for opposing US military support to El Salvador.

The Ellwangers believe change is always possible, despite growing challenges. “How did slavery end? How did women get the vote? People didn’t give up,” said Joseph. “Change does happen.”

Even as they admit they’d like to slow down, the couple remains active planning to protest again on June 14 during the national “No Kings” rally against Trump. “We’re standing on the shoulders of those who came before us,” said Joyce. “So, we’ll do our part.”