No Kings, recurring protests against the politics of president Donald Trump, returns Saturday with locations in Cambridge and Somerville along with a larger protest in Boston.
The first No Kings rally – held June 14 as Trump celebrated his birthday with a military parade –reportedly drew 5 million people to events in more than 2,100 cities and towns. The second took place Oct. 18, growing to more than 7 million people at 2,700-plus events in all 50 states, organizer said.
Saturday is expected to see 3,000 protests in the United States and internationally, No Kings said, and the number continues to grow.
“People-powered movements are how we end authoritarianism,” organizers said. “Each time we show up, we disrupt president Trump’s attempts to rule through repression.”
The Cambridge event is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cambridge Common, near Harvard Square, and some participants expect to travel together afterward to the larger event from 1 to 4 p.m. on Boston Common. The famed Dropkick Murphys will play at the Boston rally, with vocalist Ken Casey saying the band is “happy to take part in anything that offers resistance to the horrible things that are happening in America today.”
The Somerville event overlaps the Boston rally, running from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Somerville Seniors, 485 Mystic Valley Parkway, West Somerville.
Cambridge state representative Marjorie Decker hosts sign-making parties Thursday to prepare for the rallies. The parties are: from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Maria L. Baldwin Community Center, 20 Sacramento St., in the Baldwin neighborhood; and from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St., Riverside. “We will provide supplies and pizza, so just bring your ideas, energy and friends,” Decker said in a mass text. “Make a sign, join the movement and let our voices be heard.”
There is an adjoining protest in Boston on Saturday involving Cantabrigian members of Indivisible, one of the organizations behind the No Kings protests. The Save Our Social Security working group of Indivisible/Progressive MA out of Cambridge plans to protest from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Saturday outside the Park Street T Station at Park and Tremont streets, Boston.
“Nearly $1 billion a day is spent on war with Iran, yet Snap and Medicaid benefits are ending for thousands. Social Security is next, and is already weakened with the layoffs of 7,000 employees and closings of rural offices,” the group said in an email. “We are fighting to protect one of the best and most efficient government programs we have – there is virtually no fraud – as well as for the most vulnerable among us who depend on Social Security, Snap, Medicaid, Veteran’s Benefits” and other programs.
About The Author
