The Death of Renee Nicole Good
By Squish
Editors note: The author attended the WSI-organized vigil on Jan. 9th as a member of WSI’s Safety Team. He was so moved that he went home and wrote this essay.
On a frigid January night, more than a hundred Seattleites gathered in a silent ring around the Alki Statue of Liberty to honor Renee Nicole Good, the Minnesota mother killed in her car by an ICE agent the day before. The Alki landmark, a bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty, stood watch as the mourners held electric candles, the flickering light mirrored by the restless waves below. Apart from the rhythmic crash of surf against the shore, the crowd remained hushed, the stillness heavy with grief and resolve.
Organized by West Seattle Indivisible, the vigil was both an act of remembrance and a declaration of resistance. It was a response to a national tragedy and a sober rebuke to what many see as the accelerating authoritarianism of the federal government under Donald Trump.
After a long stretch of silent meditation, speakers began stepping forward, each voice adding another layer to the collective grief. A man who identified himself as a teacher recalled how, several years earlier, a young girl had been taken from his classroom by Federal agents and never seen again. He lamented the disappearance of civics and social studies from school curricula, calling it a dangerous erosion of democratic education.
Another teacher, a woman, urged her colleagues to keep teaching the truth—no matter how uncomfortable—about the direction the country is headed. “Our students deserve honesty,” she said, “especially now.”
A man then introduced himself as descendent of Chief Seattle. He reminded the crowd that in the summer of 1850, his ancestor had stood on that very ground, welcoming settlers Isaac N. Ebey and B. F. Shaw and inviting them to live among his people and trade in peace. The weight of history lingered in the cold air, a reminder of broken promises and enduring resilience.
A young Asian woman, born in the United States, spoke next. Her voice trembled as she confessed that she no longer feels safe in her own country. She said she avoids traveling to Canada, afraid she might be detained by Border Patrol when trying to return home. Now, she carries her passport everywhere she goes, just in case she needs to prove she belongs.
A high school student followed, thanking everyone for braving the bitter cold. She spoke about courage, solidarity, and the importance of staying steadfast in the face of cruelty. “Our shared humanity binds us,” she said, her words met with nods and a few quiet tears.
Finally, a man from Minnesota stepped forward. He explained he had moved to Seattle from Minneapolis just months before George Floyd was killed. He came from the same neighborhood where both Floyd and Renee Nicole Good lost their lives. “Our community keeps bleeding,” he said. “But we have to stay strong. We have to keep going.”
KING 5 News lingered at the edges of the gathering, recording interviews and capturing candlelit faces. The vigil closed with the crowd singing “Amazing Grace,” their voices rising and falling in unison as the waves slapped against the shore, underscoring every note.
The Alki vigil was only one of thousands taking place across the country. Renee Nicole Good’s senseless, extrajudicial killing has struck a deep national nerve, further galvanizing a resistance movement that has been steadily building throughout the first year of Donald Trump’s second term.