Friends,
Last weekend, you sent me thousands of pictures from your local No Kings protests. Minneapolis to Miami, Pittsburgh to Paris, you showed up to fight fascism and defend democracy.
My associate producer, Charlotte Albrecht, attended the NYC protest in Times Square, where over 350,000 people gathered and marched 33 blocks to Union Square. Teenagers, parents pushing strollers, immigrant workers, union members, activists — whether draped in an American flag or decked out in a keffiyeh, toting a cardboard sign or wielding a glossy print out, waddling around in an inflatable unicorn or sporting a “Zohran for NYC” t-shirt — a mass of people pouring down 7th Avenue, to the tune of tubas and tambourines, a thousand cacophonous chants about every issue under the sun.
But we walked away with the sense that people want more. You want more.
Imagine if the 7 million people who showed up on No Kings Day demanded more. What if we painted a picture of the world we want to live in? Not just “No Kings” or “No Trump.” Not just telling everyone what we’re against, but showing everyone what we are for.
Make no mistake — in the face of a lawless and criminal administration that’s currently building a Gestapo-like police force that can detain, arrest and deport citizens and non-citizens alike, we should not take for granted our ability to get 7 million Americans out into the streets.
But what if we woke up tomorrow and demanded what we really want?
Think about it, friends. More to come.
Listen below:
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I led a No Kings demonstration on October 18th in our neighborhood which is in Manhattan, uptown from Times Square. The demonstration posted on the No Kings website garnered more than 1000 participants for the event on West 125th Street. My motivation for an alternative site was for seniors like me who can no longer manage the walking part of the main Manhattan events or the subway commute. The diverse large and enthusiastic crowd of about 1500 people showed how important local action is. I sent a press release to many media sources, including local NYC ones but none picked up on it. The only coverage was from Columbia Uni’s student run publication, The Spectator.
My guess is an economic boycott. Now Spotify stock sank 5 % yesterday when the info came out that they were running ICE requitement ads. Similar to Disney being impacted. It comes down to the info getting out and we know that folks want to do this. They want to make an impact. So hit them buggers in their pocketbooks, they will sit up and take notice. Thanks Michael, good to hear from you!