Why women in their 80s are making noise on a DC street corner every night

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Why women in their 80s are making noise on a DC street corner every night

Sue HartDegen, left, and some of her Northwest D.C. neighbors go out for a few minutes almost every night to protest the National Guard deployment in the District. (麻豆官网/Kyle Cooper)

It鈥檚 not easy for 88-year-old Sue HartDegen to leave her senior living apartment at Thomas Circle in Northwest D.C., but with her oxygen, a “Free DC” sign and two stainless steel pot lids in tow, she steadies herself with her walker and makes her way to a nearby street corner to make some noise.

HartDegen and a few of her neighbors are out there almost every night from 7 p.m. to 7:05 p.m., banging pots and pans.聽

They have staged this nightly protest since last August, when the National Guard first arrived on the streets of D.C.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 go out to rallies,” HartDegen said. “I can鈥檛 do those things anymore, but this five minutes of pot banging a block from where I live, I can do that.鈥�

HartDegen said she could not stay silent and that she wants people who see the images of the National Guard on the streets to know D.C. is not a crime-ridden or terrible place to live.

Over the past year, she’s become more accustomed to seeing the Guard members on patrol, but at certain times it still bothers her.

鈥淲hy are they here Sunday morning when I go to church?” she asked. “I mean why? This is a completely safe area, especially in the daytime.鈥�

Nancy Groth, another member of the Thursday night protest, said some of the neighbors who can鈥檛 take part have hung D.C. flags on their balconies.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a corporate decision; it wasn鈥檛 the residents’ association. Every one of those flags is an individual who said ‘Yes, I鈥檓 going to do this,'” Groth said.

The number of flags has grown over the past year to about two dozen, she said.

The protesters said they will keep this up until the Guard is gone. To mark the official one-year anniversary of the deployment in D.C., they are planning a larger demonstration Monday, with a march starting at Franklin Park and ending at Thomas Circle.

鈥淲e love it when cars will honk for us, that makes us feel that we are being seen and heard,” HartDegen said.

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Kyle Cooper

Weekend and fill-in anchor Kyle Cooper has been with 麻豆官网 since 1992. Over those 25 years, Kyle has worked as a street reporter, editor and anchor. Prior to 麻豆官网, Kyle worked at several radio stations in Indiana and at the Indianapolis Star Newspaper.