More than 10,000 protestors joined Reno’s “No Kings” protest on March 28, and there was plenty of fanfare.
A trumpeter played the national anthem before the protest, while live bands along the marching route performed songs bemoaning fascism. Representatives of local advocacy groups stood at tables with information on their organizations and resources on how to deal with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.
At the Believe Plaza, civic leaders like ACLU of Nevada executive director Athar Haseebullah and Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter director Olivia Tanager spoke to attendees. Nevada state Sen. Angie Taylor emceed and led chants with the crowd.
“No!” Taylor’s voice boomed through the stage’s speaker system.
“Kings!” protestors shouted back.
A representative of the Northern Nevada Democratic Socialists of America said the group received 51 email sign-ups—about three times as many as they usually get tabling outside of the Riverside Farmers’ Market. Code Pink Reno said they raised more than 3 1/2 times the amount of money for families in Gaza than they typically do at their own events.
There’s no question the “No Kings” event left attendees encouraged, while bolstering local activist groups. But beyond that … are these protests actually accomplishing anything?
In a recent opinion piece for MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, Christian Schneider wrote:
The revolution will be well attended. And it may accomplish absolutely nothing.
On (March 28), hundreds of thousands—perhaps millions—of Americans will pour into city streets for the third installment of the ‘No Kings’ protests, a nationwide day of action organized by the activist coalition Indivisible. Organizers are predicting that it could be the single largest day of domestic political protest in American history. Bruce Springsteen will perform in St. Paul, Minn. The American Civil Liberties Union has been hosting training sessions on how to reduce risk to yourself while protesting peacefully. Signs are being painted. Chants are being rehearsed.
And when it’s all over, Donald Trump will still be president.
Some locals think Schneider has a point.
Jordan Stone is an activist who works with mutual-aid groups Family Soup Mutual Aid and Heaterbloc Reno. He has attended all three Reno “No Kings” protests, but his goal isn’t simply to march: He and a group of friends move through the crowds looking for people want to do more, pointing them toward mutual-aid groups and local organizing efforts.
“The ‘No Kings’ rally is you show up; you wave your signs; you get it out of your system; and then what?” he said. “You wait for the next ‘No Kings’ rally.”
Stone said he believes showing up and having one’s voice heard is important, but he questions the end goal of “No Kings.” The 50501 Movement, which started “No Kings” with the advocacy group Indivisible, calls on the government to uphold the Constitution and end executive overreach.
“If people in power are led to believe that when the people, quote unquote, ‘stand up,’ all they’re going to receive is some maybe bad press, then there is no incentive for them to change,” Stone said.
Nathaniel Phillipps, a community organizer for the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty, said the protests are like a pressure valve that releases frustration—but they haven’t stopped the wrongs attendees have been protesting, like the targeting of LGBTQ+ people, immigrants and people of color, by both the Trump administration and law enforcement in general.
“A significant amount of us feel that we are targeted (by law enforcement) because of our identity,” Phillipps said. “For Black men like myself, the police are one of the leading causes of death.”
Local activists respond
Both Kimberly Carden, the leader of Indivisible Northern Nevada (INNV), and a co-organizer who asked not to be named due to job security concerns, said they were surprised to hear that some local activists questioned the effectiveness of “No Kings.”
Both organizers said the “No Kings” protests have a clear overarching message: American democracy is being attacked on a daily basis. If people don’t defend First Amendment rights and due process, other issues won’t have a leg to stand upon, they said.
Carden said the “No Kings” protests open doors for first-time activists and increase civic engagement.
“It’s not just getting (people) to show up and be an overwhelming presence in the United States,” Carden said. “It offers you an opportunity to now get into the (activist) network and do something else.”
Some activists, like Phillipps, don’t think “No Kings” organizers should involve police in any way; local organizers responded that they have a responsibility to keep people safe at their events, and that INNV works with the city and police to ensure participants can exercise their First Amendment rights without unnecessary risk. Also: Without a permit, the protest could potentially be shut down by law enforcement.
“The shutting down of an event like what we’re trying to host would be the tipping point for when this goes from peaceful to … not (peaceful), the INVV organizer said.
A better way forward
Both the activists and the Indivisible Northern Nevada organizers said more can and should be done outside of protests, and they have a shared interest in more collaboration among advocacy groups.
“We don’t know all the other things that other (activists and organizations) are doing in our community, and how they work together or could work against (each other),” Phillipps said.
Even if activists don’t all agree on the methods, they can still learn from each other and ensure that they are doing the best they can by working together, Phillips said.
The INNV organizer agreed.
“The people who are naturally drawn to (activism) are very passionate and … opinionated,” said the INNV organizer. “That’s great. If we don’t have these discussions, we’re never going to find better solutions.”
Phillipps and Stone encouraged others to engage in actions that have an immediate tangible impact, such as joining mutual-aid groups like Family Soup Mutual Aid, which provides weekly food distribution at the Believe Plaza, or Hampton House Garden, the community organization that coordinated the Good Neighbors Warming Center to provide emergency winter shelter to women and families in Reno and Sparks.
For people looking for more ways to get involved, INNV organizers recommend the Reno Coalition of Opposition website for a directory of local mutual-aid and advocacy groups.
“(Trump) is a symptom of larger problems,” Stone said. “Those larger problems start locally.”