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NO KINGS - The crescendo culminates this Saturday, Oct. 18. A display of peaceful protest and people power that is likely to exceed 10 million Americans participating in anti-Trump No Kings! marches and rallies will occur in more than 2,500 places coast to coast.
Here in L.A. County, one of the largest No Kings! events on 10/18 will occur at noon to 2 pm in Glendale on the large public plaza outside the Social Security office at 225 W. Broadway. Attendees can still sign up for the rally at this link.
The Chicano soul band Los Yesterdays will play and inspire thousands of rallygoers to dance. Speakers include state Senator Sasha Renee Perez, author of the new state law to compel law enforcement officers in California to remove any masks.
There is an old saying in the labor movement that the best tool for a union organizer is a really bad boss. The behavior of President Trump, the pushover Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate, and the captive, pro-Trump majority on the Supreme Court has been frightening. Right-wing Republican control of all three branches of the federal government is enabling violations of Americans’ Constitutional rights, including due process, while failing, since Oct. 1, to keep essential services operating for the American people.
In response, local Democrats have leveraged the Republican shutdown of the federal government to accentuate the urgency of peaceful protest to put guardrails on the Trump Administration. In addition, local Democratic clubs like East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD) have activated members and more than 200 volunteers to urge Californians to vote YES on Proposition 50.
Ballots arrived last week for the Nov. 4 special election. For most voters, Prop 50 is the only item on the ballot. The measure would temporarily reset U.S. House districts in California to send more Members of Congress to the Capitol who will do their job under the Constitution to hold the President accountable and keep the federal government functioning.
This unique, off-year vote puts the onus on volunteers to use our networks of friends, family, and community to spread the word for Yes on 50. Supporters of Prop 50 can find graphics here to use on social media.
Weeks of spirited, ingenious get-out-the-vote activities by EAPD and others have mingled Yes on 50 messages with recruitment to No Kings! events. That includes several well-orchestrated visibility gatherings on freeway overpasses in Lincoln Heights, Silver Lake, and Eagle Rock. Thousands of drivers expressed their honking solidarity.
That support will echo even more loudly Saturday. Among several peaceful No Kings! protests throughout L.A. County, the enormous gathering in Glendale will be a landmark moment showing Americans coming together to cheer, sing, and champion the passage of Prop 50, reopening of essential services of the federal government, and protection of our democracy.
(Hans Johnson is a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns have appeared in USA Today and leading newspapers across more than 20 states. Based in Eagle Rock, he serves as president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), California’s largest grassroots Democratic club with over 1,100 members. Hans brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his work, advancing equity and accountability in local and national politics.)
