This is part one of a two part conversation I had with the founders of Indivisible Hatfield. There is some overlap, but you get a different perspective from the voices of the two women. When you hear the word activist, you may have a vague idea of what that means. These interviews with two dedicated activists serve to center the individuals and groups that are walking the walk and help us see what effort is behind the public face of the work.
~Sarah Walz
Catherine Hopkins
Catherine and Margo Rice started Indivisible Hatfield in April 2025 and they had their first protest in June of 2025. They do Standouts (A protest standout is a peaceful, public demonstration where participants line up in high-visibility areas like busy street corners, overpasses, or town squares to hold signs, wave banners, and share a message with passing drivers and pedestrians). Catherine pours a lot of her energy into the creation of weekly bulletins and signs for the Overpass protests. They try to keep them topically up to date, such as in the recent ICE killing in Maine.
Here are some projects that Indivisible Hatfield is pursuing and they are planning a survey for the group, to help interested people find things that they could do to contribute to local activism. Indivisible Hatfield wants to organize more interest and participation in these areas:
- Council on Aging
- Food drive
- Government Get the Vote Out
- Attendance at town meetings
- Community involvement in local schools.
- Farm tours
- Open space
- Water quality
Catherine began her activist journey in the protests of the sixties and seventies, a time she remembers as filled with campus meetings and connectivity. Her main area of activism until recently was the climate movement. She sees the climate as having a major impact in the next few years. But she became so concerned about democracy that she pivoted to working with Indivisible. In addition to her current activism, she is a teacher/mentor at Hartsbrook School in Hadley. Music is also important to her and she sees the need for us to keep balance in our lives.
Low participation in activism is an area of concern to her. It seems that people have a harder time physically getting together than in the sixties and she sees fewer numbers in the projects she’s involved with now. It’s a national issue. Catherine doesn’t see enough organization of effective non-violent resistance. She feels there should be more consistent pressure against the government when it ignores laws protecting the rights of its citizens. Government is her to serve the people.
However, at their weekly overpass demonstration in Hatfield, demonstrators have gotten a lot of positive response. Catherine sees much value in protesting on the street, because it’s visible. It shows that though people might have similar feelings, they may not realize that until they see others like them in the streets.
Catherine has a concern that groups working in their own area may not see the linkages with others doing the same kinds of things, unless it is for a big event, like No Kings. She would like to see anonymous interviews with national GOP members to see what they really think. And Catherine believes that we have underestimated the push back that arose to the social programs coming out of the civil rights movement. She thinks that this was fomenting the genesis of Project 2025,coming far earlier than many think.
When asked what Catherine would say to young people, she says, “Take an interest in the world. Find a project that you are passionate about and find ways to act”.
Her parting words are, “Being active is the way to feel optimistic. Everyone should find something that will contribute to the betterment of people. Get to know your neighbors. Run for something. There were many positions unopposed in the latest Hatfield primary. And finally, history shows that grassroots organizing and involvement is the way to go to counter these national threats. The people rise up!”