Charles Neblett of Russellville was a founding member of The Freedom Singers in 1962. 

The acapella group traveled the nation to spread the Civil Rights Movement and protest through song. The 84-year-old, who is still using his voice to protest for what he believes, arrived at SOKY Indivisible’s Labor Day Protest Monday to cheers. 

“If you want to get anything done, you got to get minds together,” Neblett said. “That’s what we did in the (Civil Rights) movement in the 60s. People march.”

The crowd settled, and Neblett sang “I Woke Up this Morning with Freedom on my Mind” as people clapped to the beat and others joined in the singing. The crowd, standing just off of East 7th Avenue, drew attention from passing cars as horn beeps fluttered by.

The Labor Day protest on Monday spanned from 10 a.m. to noon as chants of “tax the rich” rang next to the historic Standard Oil Company Filling Station in Circus Square Park. The protest was organized by SOKY Indivisible to protest for workers’ rights.

“The thing is, it’s wonderful,” Neblett said. “Like minds together, expressing themselves.”

Labor Day is a celebration of the American Labor Movement, pushing for fair wages and proper working conditions through the means of strikes, collective bargaining and protest. Protesters at the park said they felt that the U.S. is straying away from what defines Labor Day as a national holiday.

“This nation is built on workers,” said Stephanie Morris, a 65-year-old Bowling Green resident. “Labor Day was established to recognize workers, and it was established because workers rose up to say: we matter.”

Protesters also spoke against the current presidential administration. Protesters joined in shouts and showed signs that displayed “No Kings” and “#FREEKILMAR” in reference to the deportation of Kilmar Armando Ábrego García.

“I’m out here to celebrate workers, but also (to) say that I fear our government is doing unlawful things,” Morris said.

Many protestors said they fear the effects of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” It remained a major talking point at the protest, with protestors concerned for its impacts on Medicaid, SNAP Benefits and other similar programs.

“I thought it (the protest) was very positive,” said Gerry Brown, a 72-year-old resident of Smiths Grove, Kentucky. “We just wanted people to keep paying attention to what’s happening in our country and concentrate on all those who aren’t billionaires or out there struggling every day trying to make ends meet.”

Rachel Hancock, a resident of Cave City, Kentucky, read a poem titled “cacophony” for the protest. Cacophony is defined as an “unpleasant mixture of loud sounds.” Hancock said she’s seen the word manifest itself in the world today through the current political landscape.  

“The world is a cacophony, a harsh mashing of sounds dissonant and jarring,” Hancock said, reciting the poem. “The rich are desperate to drown. The world is a screaming babe. Its cries of fear and anguish are unrelenting, a cacophony of our own making.”