Category: Civil Rights - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

Express your concerns about Flock to your city council - Action Alert

9/15/2026

Please visit your city council and comment

QC Locations

Get the Flock Out QC

Please join the following city council meetings to submit a public comment on your desire to end their contract with Flock, or support those doing so. More information is available here.

Next city council meetings:
September 15, 6:00PM: Moline, 619 16th ST (map)
September 15, 7:00PM: Bettendorf, 1609 State ST (map)
September 21, 6:30PM: East Moline, 915 16th AV (map)
September 22, 6:00PM: Moline, 619 16th ST (map)
September 23, 5:30PM: Davenport, 226 W 4th ST (map)

David Anderson (he/him)

Leaving MAGA a QCCC presentation

8/11/2026

Leaving MAGA
Friday, August 28th at 7:00 pm

Laborers' Local 309 Hall
2835 7th AV
Rock Island, IL (map)

PACG and others

Please join us on Friday, August 28th, at 7pm at the Laborer's Hall in Rock Island to hear Rich Logis describe his experiences and successes in helping disillusioned people leave MAGA. Rich's book, One Betrayal Too Many, will be available for purchase at the event.

PACG is co-sponsoring this event along with six other organizations as part of the quarterly Quad Cities Civic Conversations series. As suggested on the attached flyer, registration using the QR Code is encouraged, but not required. We hope to see you there!

Caryn Unsicker (she/her)

How many people shot in ICE raids-Of Interest to Our Community

8/3/2026

How many people have been shot in ICE raids?

Civil Rights Forum

from the Trace.org

Using Gun Violence Archive data and news clips, The Trace has identified 30 incidents in which immigration agents shot at people since President Donald Trump’s operations began last year. We have found another 46 incidents in which agents held bystanders, protesters, or other people at gunpoint under questionable circumstances. Eight people were killed in these incidents. Another 14 people were injured. Read the article here and view the updated map of the locations of this violence.

Allison Ambrose

Read "A Resistance History of the US"-Of Interest to Our Community

7/4/2026

A Resistance History of the United States

This is a good book by historian Tad Stoermer that covers the real history of the resistance efforts that helped to build our current understanding of what a democratic republic should be. Here's the review from the publisher:

An urgent, bracing new look at American history that Ava DuVernay calls "deeply necessary for this moment."

Revisit the Salem Witch Trials, the Underground Railroad, and other resistance movements of American history to get a bold new understanding of how resistance shaped our past—and how its principles can change our future.

The United States was shaped by resistance—but not in the way we’ve been taught. The Revolution did not secure liberty; it opened the door to either liberty or oppression, where only white men enjoyed all of the benefits and protections of citizenship.

In A Resistance History of the United States, public historian Tad Stoermer shows how from the very beginning, that tension—between the ideals of resistance and the realities of power—has defined America more than the Enlightenment ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Utililizing powerful storytelling to focus on key—and often lesser-known—moments in American history, this book reveals the truth of how resistance movements from Colonial times have opposed the powers that be. Stoermer covers an impressive roster of pivotal movements, with each chapter identifying a key resistance movement and principle meant to inspire contemporary readers, including:

Bacon’s Rebellion/Metacomet’s War (1676)
Salem Witch Trials (1692)
The Black Loyalists (1783)
The Underground Railroad (1850)

Through these and many more examples, Stoermer dismantles the mythologies that pass for American history—exposing the curated nostalgia, moral evasions, and institutional silences that have long protected abusive power. What emerges is an essential look at how we can take lessons from the past to understand, and effectively respond to, the injustices we face today.

Cliff Day (he/him)

Read "On Courage"-Of Interest to Our Community

7/4/2026

On Courage - How to be a Dissident in an Age of Fear

PACG Book Club

As a group, we decide the books we will read throughout the year and On Courage is not on it at this point. However, this is the manual we need now in our resistance and work to regain our progressive values. It's well-written and encouraging in these difficult times. Read the publisher's comments (below) and learn about the authors at this link.

Book Club will not be meeting again until September when we will discuss The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende.

On Courage is...a deeply reported manual about how anyone can defy an authoritarian – based on original interviews with more than 100 dissidents, activists, and theorists across the world.

The United States is only the latest country to face a leader who wields fear as a weapon, punishes political enemies, disappears people off the street, and undermines free and fair elections. Today nearly three out of four people on earth live under authoritarianism, the highest rate since the late 1970s.

But even under repressive conditions, each of us holds the power to help defeat autocrats. Based on their acclaimed The New Yorker essay “So You Want to Be a Dissident?,” veteran reporter Julia Angwin and political strategist Ami Fields-Meyer give us a captivating – and profoundly hopeful – guide to courage in an age of fear.

Meet a student from Hong Kong who risked everything for democracy. A mom in a working-class neighborhood of Caracas who broke with the political movement that raised her. Cairo twentysomethings who staged a gutsy stunt to help bring down a dictator. A mild-mannered immigrant fighting to save a landmark U.S. civil rights law. People throughout the United States and across five continents who faced serious risks for dissenting in their workplace, their community, or their country. On Courage is the story of how they did it anyway – and how you can do it, too.

Blending rich, previously untold narratives with history, spirituality, and movement research, Angwin and Fields-Meyer deliver a highly accessible book full of practical lessons – an inspiring resource for anyone, anywhere, who feels the walls of history closing in on them. On Courage is a roadmap to political courage and a powerful case for how taking personal risks can help save the free world.

Alta Price (she/her)

Honoring the 108th Colored Troops After Action Report

7/1/2026

Honoring the 108th Colored Troops After Action Report

Civil Rights Forum

PACG President David Anderson and LTC Adhana McCarthy
at the Rock Island National Cemetery

On Juneteenth (June 19th, 2026), members of the PACG community participated in a celebration and remembrance of the 108th United States Colored Infantry Regiment that guarded Confederate prisoners at Rock Island Arsenal during the Civil War. The keynote address was given by LTC Adhana J. McCarthy MPAS, PA-C United States Army Medical Specialist. Other speakers gave the audience background and connections to families currently living in the Quad Cities. The ceremony concluded by laying flowers at the graves of soldiers of the 108th buried in Rock Island National Cemetery.

David Anderson (he/him)

6th Anniversary of Racial Equality rally-After Action Report

6/14/2026

6th Anniversary of Racial Equality rally After Action Report

Civil Rights Forum

Over 20 people gathered to stand up for Racial Equality on the 6th Anniversary of the rally started by Glenda Guster and me on June 13, 2020 after George Floyd was murdered. We were greeted by thumbs up and honks from passersby which I believe indicates that most people want to keep the conversation going.

Read the WVIK/NPR report about this rally here. And listen to the WQAD interview of Glenda and Cayrn here.

We and a band of regulars plan to keep the rally going every Saturday from noon to 12:30 until racial equality is achieved in our country!

Caryn Unsicker (she/her)

6th Anniversary of Racial Equality Rally-PACG Event

6/3/2026

6th Anniversary of Racial Equality Rally
Saturday, June 13th at noon

Southwest corner of
John Deere RD and 16th ST
Moline, IL (map)

Civil Rights Forum

Come join us to support 6 years of standing up weekly for Racial Equality and justice in our country! We started after George Floyd was murdered in 2020, and we're not giving up until racism is no longer an active threat to black people and all people of color in America! We have extra signs and we get lots of positive honks and waves from passersby! Read our news release and see more photos over the years below.

Caryn Unsicker (she/her)

PACG Weekly Racial Equality Rally marks 6th Anniversary!

(Moline, IL) - Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG) announces the 6th Anniversary of the Racial Equality Rally in Moline. In the six years since George Floyd, an African American, was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, there seems to have been little progress in our country toward preventing these tragedies or in improving racial relations through community policing. In Rock Island, young Jakarta Jackson was killed last year by a white officer. Many think that the situation could have been handled differently, and that his death was preventable.

Since June 13, 2020, two local women, Caryn Unsicker and Glenda Guster, have been bringing attention to this issue every Saturday by holding up "Black Lives Matter" and "Honk for Racial Equality" signs from noon to 12:30 pm on the corner of John Deere Rd. and 16th Street across from Southpark Mall. They have enlisted PACG members and others to join them in holding ongoing rallies to honor George Floyd and the many other victims of color before (and since) his murder. Unsicker says she knew back in 2020 that the issue would fade once the press moved on to cover other news, so she called Guster and they agreed to keep the issue alive indefinitely as long as racial inequality was a reality in our country.

Unsicker states that, despite an occasional detractor, the large number of honks and thumbs up they get each week from passersby of all races is encouraging. "That's what keeps us going," she says. "This tells us that most people want to keep the conversation about racial equality alive and active, and that many people acknowledge that we need solutions so we can heal as a nation - even in these times of deep division." They invite anyone to join in the effort! "We have extra signs and all are welcome," says Unsicker. She said they have had people from all walks of life join them occasionally in recent months.

Because June 13th falls on a Saturday this year, they will celebrate on the actual date they started the rally six years ago. Please join them that day between noon and 12:30 pm across from Southpark Mall to take a stand on this critical issue!

As progressives, PACG empowers people to take action for positive change and social justice by coordinating a network of community forums and events aimed at educating and engaging citizens to work for the common good of all. Our core values are Social Justice, Empowerment, Diversity, Sustainability and Community.

For more information about this event, please visit the Progressive Action for the Common Good website at http://www.pacgqc.org or contact Caryn Unsicker via email at
[email protected].

Juneteenth Festival 2026-Of Interest to Our Community

6/3/2026

Juneteenth Celebration
Saturday, June 20th from 11 am to 4 pm

W 2nd ST between Brady and Harrison
Davenport, IA (map)

Civil Rights Forum

The Civil Rights Forum encourages you to attend the 2026 Juneteenth Festival sponsored by the Friends of MLK and TMBC Lincoln Resource Center. The event has been moved to downtown so there is more room for the celebration. R ead more at this Facebook post.

Allison Ambrose

QC IMBY Giveaway

5/27/2026

QC IMBY - It's giveaway time!
Vote by Friday, May 29th

Immigration Coalition of the Quad Cities

QC In My Back Yard is celebrating the amazing immigrant-owned businesses that help make our community stronger, more diverse, and full of incredible food! You need to have a Facebook account to participate.

We’re giving away THREE $25 gift certificates to some amazing local immigrant-owned restaurants:
Eddy's Snack Bar
Restaurante Sabor Catracho
Nally's Kitchen, Inc.

THREE winners will each receive ONE $25 gift certificate!

HOW TO ENTER:
1. Like & Share this Facebook post.
2. Tag a friend in the comments.
3. Follow this page.
(You must complete all 3 to be entered!)

Winners will be randomly drawn on Friday, May 29th. Make sure you’re following our page so you don’t miss future spotlights, stories, and giveaways highlighting the positive impact immigrants make in our community every day.

Allison Ambrose

Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG)
PO Box 544 Bettendorf, IA 52722
(563) 676-7580
[email protected]
PACG is a 501(c)(3) organization and your donation may be tax deductible.

© 2026 Progressive Action for Common Good