On Oct. 18, No Kings demonstrations took place across Minnesota, including Richfield, St. Louis Park, and downtown Minneapolis near U.S. Bank Stadium. Activists gathered in the park by the thousands to march and make a stand against the current Presidential administration. Many activists carried homemade signs ranging from positive messages of change to comical criticisms of policies. Other activists dressed in costumes, some wearing inflatable animal costumes, including frogs, dinosaurs and snakes. Others dressed as characters from popular culture, including Gandalf the Grey and The Lorax.
An activist at the demonstration, Ben Knutson, dressed as Waldo from “Where’s Waldo” to lighten the mood and support democracy.
“I just thought it was a good way to bring levity and humor to a terrifying situation that we’re dealing with. And so, combat supreme evil in this world with jokes and a little bit of humor, while also very much asking the question ‘Where the hell is democracy?’ and ‘Where the hell is our basic sense of decency at this moment?’” Knutson said.
Hamline activists showed their support for the No Kings Day demonstration. The Hamline Young Democratic Socialists of America [YDSA] is a group on campus that stands for social justice by organizing events and speaking up on social issues.
“[It] felt [right] to make an effort to go,” junior Ian Williams said, a member of the YDSA, “We wanted to make an appearance, [and] it felt good to march.”
The YDSA also led chants with a megaphone such as “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go,” “Up, up, with education, down, down, with deportation,” “Free, free, Palestine,” “Get up, get down, Minneapolis is a union town” and “Money for jobs and education, not for raids and deportation.”
Before the march officially started, public speakers came out to address the crowd and speak on matters important to those attending the rally, including elected officials such as Minnesota Democratic Senator Tina Smith.
“[All around me] I see 365 degrees of people who love this country,” Smith said to the activists that surrounded her via microphone. “There are millions of people around this country that are gathering today, here in Minnesota, there are thousands of people [gathering]. We pledge allegiance not to a flag, not to a person, but to our democratic boundaries.”
The No Kings demonstration was made possible by a collection of organizers and volunteers, explained Heather Friedli, the media and communications coordinator for MN50501, a grassroots organization dedicated to safeguarding our democracy and building a better Minnesota.
“We’re here speaking up for democracy, we demand that our legislatures and our representatives protect the rule of law as well as the Constitution, which a lot of these things are not being followed by the Trump Regime,” Friedli said.
There have been a number of Demonstrations over the past year organized by the No Kings Coalition, each one raising awareness and public support for their mission. “On [Oct.] 18, more than seven million of us rose at more than 2700 events in all 50 states, DC, and states to say: America had no kings, and the power belongs to the people. Now our task is to stay vigilant, stay united, and continue to push back,” the No Kings official website said.
