Members of Lexington’s Climate Action Network gathered along Massachusetts Avenue in front of Bank of America (BoA) on Tuesday. Nine group members emailed the branch manager, identifying themselves as BoA customers and expressing disappointment that the bank continues “to provide financial services to corporations that are most responsible for causing the climate crisis: the fossil fuel industry and corporations engaged in deforestation.” During the midday demonstration, multiple activists cut up their bank cards to the cheers of onlookers.
The protests were part of a movement started by former Lexington resident Bill McKibben called TH!RD ACT. Lexington’s climate demonstrations took place along with more than 100 similar events across the country.
Brookhaven Residents’ Climate Change Committee Chair Tom Bryan and its Advocacy Subcommittee Chair Sallye Bleiberg gathered two dozen residents who marched to BoA’s Waltham Street branch to deliver a similar letter to the bank’s branch manager. Bleiberg later reported that the group was “energized by the march, reminiscent of the anti-war marches during the Vietnam War.”
According to its website, TH!RD ACT seeks to build “a community of experienced Americans over the age of sixty determined to change the world for the better.” Jane Martin proudly identified herself as being 93 years old. A second nonagenarian attended the Lexington Center action: 92-year-old Brown Pulliam bicycled to the protest before returning to Bedford for his hometown’s demonstration.
Our Th!rd Act group from Brookhaven visited the neighboring Chase Bank branch, too, with a similar message.