7 million Americans. 2,700 protests. Across all 50 states. All at the same time. What happened on Oct. 18, was a monumental event in our history, and should be accredited by generations to come as to how you bring about change.
On Oct. 18, nationwide “No Kings” protests were held to protest Trump’s authoritarian agenda. And according to No Kings, there were over 2,700 protests with more than 7 million people in attendance, across all 50 states. Including Washington D. C. and other cities worldwide.
Some of the largest protests were in places like Washington D.C. with protesters filling Pennsylvania Avenue with estimates of over 200,000 people in attendance. There were also remarkable “No Kings” protests in New York City with thousands of people filling Times Square and the surrounding streets for miles and with estimates of over 100,000 people in attendance, according to local organizers. Chicago had noteworthy protests as well with its massive gatherings of people in Grant Park and with an estimate of over 100,000 attendees. In addition to that, large numbers of demonstrators gathered in Los Angeles.
What’s more is that these protests were very peaceful with police in many large cities stating that no protest-related incidents occurred. But despite this, the national guard was still sent to some of these cities in the anticipation of violence by protesters.
But then, Sophie Bernth (10) indicated why she expected these protests to be peaceful.
“No, I am not surprised the protesters were peaceful because by coming to these protests you are protesting against hate,” Bernth said.
Bernth shared her personal experience participating in Missouri “No Kings” protests as well.
Donald Trump also called these protests a “hate America rally” when the very reason why we protest is because we are trying to protect the constitutional freedoms that America was founded on and that we love so much. And unfortunately, we live in a world where these fundamental principles are being threatened. Freedom of speech is under attack. Democracy is under attack. Americans are under attack.
Then Bernth expressed how calling the “No Kings” protests a “hate America rally” directly contradicts the meaning behind these protests.
“These protests were against hate and were peaceful street protests,” Bernth said.
Alexis Davis (10) also explained what freedoms she thought we were protecting by protesting.
“I think we are protecting our right to control what goes on in our country through the power of the people,” Davis said. “We are protecting freedom of speech and the democratic process in America.”
But we are uniting together over a wide range of issues to try and combat the Trump Administration because our eyes are finally open. We can finally now see the impact that Trump’s policies are having on people and Americans will not stand for it. We refuse to be silenced. We refuse to be subjugated. And we especially refuse to be led by a bully, a tyrant, and a king because America has not had a king since 1776 and we will not start now.
Somewhere, somehow, we have started to go against what our country was founded on and that’s freedom, democracy, and equality for all people. We have let a leader who behaves like a monarch and a dictator lead us astray from our most coveted and fundamental ideals and that is utterly unacceptable. We must do something about it and that starts with the people which is exactly how our founding fathers would have wanted it.
For instance, what makes these protests so special is that it’s giving power back to people, something that has been forgotten about in today’s society. Not to mention that it’s the entire backbone of our democracy: the power to the people. And we definitely took some of that power back when we took to the streets and protested all over the country on Oct. 18. And we not only took action but made history when we carried out the largest single-day protest against tyranny in American history.
Davis expressed how these protests gave power back to the people as well.
This was also not the first set of “No Kings” protests to be held as there were prior “No Kings” protests on June 14, hosted by the 50501 (50 Protests, 50 States, 1 Movement) movement. Moreover, these June “No Kings” protests had an attendance of 5 million people which shows that our numbers have been growing rapidly in a short amount of time since these October protests had an attendance of over 7 million people.
Davis also communicated what the growing participation in “No Kings” protests means for America.
“I think it’s proof of growth and change, the people who didn’t show up before, they’re showing up now and they’re realizing that we need a change,” Davis said.
Lastly, these “No Kings” protests show that we have strength in numbers, and that we are even more powerful when we come together as a country. United we finally stand again in opposition to a tyrannical king.
Furthermore, Davis shared her final thoughts on these protests.
