The Raging Grannies of Mendocino County have taken to the streets in recent months — joining local protests against the actions of the Trump administration. Their songs, a blend of music, humor, and political outrage, add a generational perspective to issues ranging from POTUS 47’s immigration crackdown to the war on Gaza.
Formed locally two decades ago, the Mendocino chapter is part of an international network that began in 1987 in British Columbia, where women dressed up as lab-coated technicians wielded make-shift Geiger counters to raise awareness about nuclear submarines. Their performances eventually led to a radiation monitoring program in Canada. In Mendocino County, the tradition continues — equal parts activism, theater, and community.
At a rehearsal at a home in Ukiah in April, the Grannies performed a somber new piece about Kilmer Abrego Garcia, the 29-year-old husband of a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, who was deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
“Oh Kilmer Abrego Garcia
Your name we will never forget.
We’ll keep shouting it from the treetops
We won’t rest till he boards the jet.”
The group talked about the fear created by the disappearance of immigrant students and others swept up in the expedited removal process.
“I don’t want to say where I was born,” said Jacqueline Lee, 83, the oldest member of the group gathered on ths Wednesday afternoon, “because I was born in China… and lots of people don’t like people who weren’t born here.”
Still, the Grannies haven’t lost their sense of humor. Past songs celebrate life in Mendocino, including a cheeky 2009 number performed at a variety show at the Anderson Valley Grange:
“I’ll get the Dr. Bronner’s and you go get the wine
Let’s meet up in the bathtub
and have a real good time."
Their singalongs can veer from bawdy to biting — and sometimes both. Talk of immigration soon gave way to jokes about Ukiah’s never-ending road work.
“I think I definitely should add a verse about the roads in Mendocino,” said one Granny, as laughter erupted.
With the resilience of redwood forests in their hearts and protest in their lungs, the Raging Grannies of Mendocino continue to write songs that sing truth to power — and potholes.
