About Us

Our Roots

Waterloo Listens was sparked by the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Many people in Waterloo and surrounding communities were shocked into action by the callousness which led to his death. Like so many others across the country, they came together to pay respects and stand against persistent police brutality towards people of color. The result was the Waterloo Speaks protest, a stark sign of change and progress in a former sundown town.

At that protest, a group of people resolved not to merely show up once and then disappear, and Waterloo Listens was born. The name was chosen to represent our group's commitment to listen to voices from outside of our community and from backgrounds and cultures underrepresented in the place we call home.

Our Work

Since 2020, our group has found its footing by organizing a wide range of events and projects, as well as partnering with other organizations to help advance other important missions.

From a Banned Book Fair to raise money for our local library, to gatherings honoring loved ones lost to drug overdose, to vocal support to protect LGBTQIA+ youth in our community, to the building of a Peace Pole in one of our local parks, our members work directly to help each other on projects that matter to them.

For a complete view of our work, see our timeline.

Our Future

Waterloo Listens seeks to sustain and expand the light of liberty which has grown over our nation's history to protect an ever wider range of people. We feel that true values of liberty and equality require us not merely to tolerate others who are different from us, but to embrace them as they are, to support them on their own terms when they are down, and celebrate them in joyful unity when they are up.

We welcome anyone who sees in this effort a place for them where, together with friends and neighbors, they can make a difference of their own.