No Kings Rallies Tomorrow!
Biggest Mass Mobilization Yet!
NO KINGS!
❌👑
More Than 2000 Events Across the Country.
Join Us Tomorrow in Utica, Rome, or Herkimer
No Kings Rallies in the Mohawk Valley
Saturday, June 14th, 12 pm -1:30 pm
Rome (Fort Stanwix): https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/787411/
Utica (Genesee Street & Memorial Parkway): https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/790932/
Herkimer (321 E. Albany St.): https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/791119/
If you are not free during the 12 pm-1:30 pm time block please consider heading to No Kings Hamilton, NY, where they have their rally scheduled for 2:00-3:30 pm on the Village Green.
What to Expect & What to Bring
Be prepared for the weather. Rain might be in the forecast. Bring a rain jacket or umbrella.
Bring a sign! You all are great at making signs! Remember: Big dark letters on a light background is the easiest to see. Please refrain, if you can, from using foul language (F word--Yes, we know that is difficult because of the wanna be dictator we're talking about!) because our events are friendly to families with children.
Or bring an American flag! It's Flag Day, and we are the patriots trying to uphold the Constitution--the First Amendment, Due Process, the rule of law, the separation of powers, the independent judiciary. It says 'We the People," not "We the Billionaires" or "I, the Dictator King!"
Parking. If you can, leave the closest parking spots for those with mobility concerns. Read the parking suggestions in the emails sent to you by your specific site host. Use public parking in lots and the street as much as possible.
Please take photos and make videos and post on social media: #NoKings.
Safety First: We Practice Non-Violent, Peaceful Protest
Follow instructions of our IMV Safety Marshals. Our goal is for everyone to stay safe, whether crossing the street or standing a couple feet away from the road traffic.
Do not engage with or respond to drivers who yell insult, give the finger, or shout Trump support. If you feel you must respond, wave your flag, smile, or wave a hand
If there are counter-demonstrators, stay well away from them. Our training from the NYCLU and many other organizations, tells us to keep our groups separate. If that is difficult seek help from our safety marshals to mark off areas of separation. We have talked with all the local law enforcement agencies by jurisdiction and they support the effort to keep our attendees physically separate and protected from counter demonstrators.
If you are attending the Rome rally, please note that our event will occur entirely inside the taped off First Amendment area (grass field along James Street). This is a large area, but allows us to stay separate from counter-protesters. We have had this spot reserved for many weeks.
If you want more information about safety and de-escalation (abundance of caution plus good skill building!) here are the resources we rely on:
What's the Goal?
"A King is only a king if we bow down" Rev. William Barber
A single mobilization won’t stop Trump or eliminate his "aura of inevitability" instantly. That's going to take a lot of people doing a lot of different things over time. But a single mass mobilization can do a few very important things:
Change the narrative. A massive show of popular opposition everywhere in the country can disrupt Trump’s effort to project strength. It shows that resistance is big, powerful, growing, and everywhere.
Bring in new people. A mobilization of this scale and scope reaches people who aren’t yet engaged, and -- if done right -- helps to draw them into a cycle of action and relationships on the ground.
Foster community. When you show up, you realize that not only are you not alone -- you’re actually part of something enormous. And that helps to build the shared sense of identity we’ll need for the path ahead.
Spread courage. After Hands Off!, we heard from people in positions of power within institutions -- law firms, universities (one big university, in fact), and elsewhere -- who told us they were emboldened by the protests to push back on pressure from the Trump regime. As we often say, courage is contagious.
Trump wants to look strong. What he doesn’t understand is that true power comes from the people. And on June 14th, we’re going to prove it. *
*Excerpted and adapted from Leah Greenberg's Indivisible email this week, "The Strategic Logic of the No Kings Protests."
What's Next?
On Zoom
Register for Indivisible's national No Kings debrief call on Monday, June 16 at 8 pm. Come celebrate what we have accomplished with our mobilization, hear about events from across the country, and find out what our next steps will be out of No Kings weekend.
In Person
Weekly Rallies
We continue to host weekly rallies on Broad Street in Utica on Thursdays from 4-5 pm. (Details in calendar) Join us!
***The rally on Thursday, June 26 will be part of a national day of action called "Disappeared In America" led by a coalition of immigrant rights, faith, rule of law, and pro-democracy organizations. We will mobilize to shine a light on a disturbing reality: under Trump’s immigration agenda, people like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Rui Marras, and Juan Maldonado Zuniga are being forcibly detained, deported, and even disappeared. We will unite in demanding transparency, accountability, and due process for all. In America, we don’t let the government secretly detain or deport people without trial — that is not the country we claim to be. That’s not who we are. There will be a press conference with speakers.
IMV Meet-ups in June
IMV Members are organizing a variety of smaller group meetings for the last two weeks of June. People will gather for community building around actions and interests--at libraries and other public spaces. Dates, times, and locations coming soon!
Sum Up & Inspiration
“The power of the people is much stronger than the people in power.”― Wael Ghonim
Tomorrow's mass mobilization is designed to draw attention away from Trump's birthday parade in DC and call attention to the majority of the people in this country who disapprove of the way he is acting and the direction he is taking the country.
The goal of our rallies is to remind us of our own power. While Trump is testing the limits of his power every day, the full consolidation of his power over our institutions, our economy, and the American people is not yet a done deal. Because...
"A king is only a king if we bow down."
We must show up. Especially for those who can not show up--who are not able or who are at too much risk.
And we must show up peacefully, non-violently, and with a spirit of community and joy.
We are the leaders we've been waiting for and we were made for this moment.
If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
See You Tomorrow--Utica, Rome, or Herkimer at noon!
Follow us on Bluesky: @Indivisiblemv.bsky.social, on Instagram's Threads.net/@indivisiblemohawkvalley, on X (Twitter) using @indivisiblemv and of course on our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.
