By Maggie LaNoue , Contributing Writer
May 8, 2026
Well over a dozen demonstrators gathered at the Albion Post Office sidewalk on Monday, May 4, for what marked the one-year anniversary of the Moral Monday movement in Albion. Signs including “No War Dammit,” “Due Process Habeas Corpus,” and “$5.00 Gas, Trump Did That” lined the sidewalk on a warm spring evening. The gathering came just two days after a Sentinel Saturday event on May 2, giving the group two demonstrations in three days.
In one year, the Albion group has held more than 30 Moral Mondays and four Sentinel Saturdays at the Post Office sidewalk, rain or shine. The April 27 gathering took place under an active Severe Thunderstorm Warning with 60 mph wind gusts, as Calhoun County 911 later reported that approximately 30 percent of the county lost power that evening.
The backdrop to Monday’s anniversary gathering included a week of conflicting national headlines.
The price at the pump continued to climb. Regular unleaded gasoline reached $4.79 at the PS Food Mart across from the Post Office on Saturday, May 2, before easing slightly to $4.59 by Monday. According to AAA, the national average for regular unleaded stood at $4.48 per gallon, up $1.32 from the same time last year. All major stock indexes closed lower Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal, as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continued to rattle energy markets.
The Wall Street Journal reported “Attacks Strike U.A.E., Ships as Fighting Escalates in Mideast” and “Iran Defies Trump, Threatening to Tighten Its Grip on Hormuz.” Fox News reported that the Pentagon responded after Iran claimed it fired a warning shot against a U.S. ship near the oil route. The Wall Street Journal also reported “Trump Says U.S. Will Guide Stranded Ships Through Strait of Hormuz,” while Fox News noted that GOP senators were readying “restraint” on the Iran war.
Moral Monday demonstrations continue every Monday from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Albion Post Office sidewalk. A Sentinel Saturday gathering is held on the first Saturday of each month at noon. Both series have continued since May 2025.
