The third, and largest "No Kings" protest draws thousands to the Rhode Island State House

"It was Hope that brought me to you today, outside the State House, and I’m telling you here and now: I may not live to see it, but there will be a day when we are free."

Mar 29, 2026

The third “No Kings” protest in Providence brought thousands of people to the Rhode Island State House on Saturday as part of a “nationwide day of action to say, clearly and collectively: No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.” The event, which ran from 1 to 4 pm, was co-emceed by Sajo Jefferson and Aiyah Josiah-Faeduwor.

The event started with some music by the Raging Grannies.

Here’s the video:

Asa Peters, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, gave what he hoped would be more than just a simple land acknowledgement:

“I was asked to go deeper than just acknowledging the land, so I want to share the history of the United States, this pattern of violence and control over people along certain power dynamics, racial, or religious lines. It was something new to these lands. To ground you, this region we live in has been inhabited by some of my ancestors for around 12,000 or 13,000 years, after the recession of the glacier in the last ice age.
“Over these last 12 or 13,000 years, the people that lived here had been building long-term community responsibility and trusting spiritual bonds to all the other living things that are here - the plants, animals, fungi, and even the stones. Things we learn from and support in what we do every day. In King Philip’s War and the Pequot War in Connecticut, the people witnessed some of the most brutal violence. The colonizers introduced a new level of violence that had not been conceived of as possible.
“The things they did to other human beings with their swords and with their guns was an introduction of a new level of violence to the land, not just to the people, but to the land itself, that all the spirits that wander these lands and these waters have to digest now. The things that we see today, that we’re all gathering to resist, raise our voices, and organize against: the roots of the things that we’re dealing with come from that time period, when people were being racialized in a new way, and violence and control were being applied to them; militarized power was applied along these power dynamic lines. Those are the roots of what we’re seeing today.
“When you look at the writings of some of our great Pan-African leaders, like Frantz Fanon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frantz_Fanon, the way that he talks about violence begetting more violence, you see this anti-colonial resistance as people wield violence to do so. The reason I bring that up is that violence is like a substance, something that spreads and takes root in different places and in people’s minds. That’s what we’re dealing with today, when we look at the United States as an exporter of global military violence or as a source of internal violence upon its own people or the people from our neighboring countries and continents. It all comes from the introduction of new scales of violence to this land that we’ve been dealing with, and that my ancestors dealt with and witnessed first. The people brought here in slavery experienced things that perhaps their homelands couldn’t have conceived of as well.
“I share this because what we’re seeing today in this administration is not new. They’re the roots of the United States. We need to respond to the current moment, the extreme nature of what we’re seeing today, but being historically and spiritually grounded in how we got to this point is very important because, as a native person local to this area and a member of the communities that were some of the first people to deal with this colonial violence, I feel a responsibility when I see this same level of violence and racialized power dynamics or dehumanization being spread globally to other nations. This dehumanization has taken root here, and because this is my homeland, part of my traditional homeland, I feel the responsibility to see it for what it is and try to collaborate with everybody else who lives here to try to root it out.
“So I hope that the gatherings we’re holding today and the connections we’re building will help us keep organizing, clearly understand where these things come from, and address them in a meaningful way. I wish you all a very powerful event today. I’m glad to be taking part in it and very grateful for the space.”

“God’s divine providence is defined, according to Google AI, by the theological doctrine that God actively guides, sustains, and governs all creation, including human history and individual lives, according to his sovereign will,” said co-emcee Aiyah Josiah-Faeduwor with Indivisible Metro. “It opposes the idea of chance, ensuring that all events, from natural laws to personal choices, work toward a greater ordained purpose, even in the face of suffering or evil. Now, I know we’re not supposed to talk politics or religion. I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time we didn’t talk politics, so maybe it’s time we talked a little about God, or at least about morality.

“After all, isn’t this what Roger Williams had envisioned for this lively experiment? Save for this experiment being on land forced from indigenous hands, and on the beaten, burdened, and belabored backs of Black folks, believed to be three-fifths of a man. Don’t let them Obamafy me. I’m not here to say “Yes, we can.” I’m here to say, “No, you won’t.”
“No, you won’t bomb children and civilians, wantonly waging war, losing us trillions. No, you won’t take our neighbors or victimize, vilify, evict, and eviscerate the labor upon which the bedrock of our economy is built. No, you won’t sanction the murder of good people. For Renee, we say nay. For Alex Pretti, we will be petty. We’re arm in arm and ready. You are not our king. See, here in the Ocean State, y’all, we’re traversing some troubled waters. Not to rock the boat, but these men have gone overboard. I don’t need to get Pacific, but many of our so-called representatives ain’t representing shit. I call cap, as the kids say. Cap-size these guys upside by side. Both sides of the aisle are in denial. They’re in denial. Rivers of blood flow from the Gaza Strip through the Strait of Hormuz and wash up on the shores of Misquamicut. We are tired of all of it.
“Today, we turn the page anew. Channeling our country’s history, we do what we must. What we have always done: stand and fight together until victory is won. In the name of indigenous sovereignty, the same view of religious autonomy, following the same train of women’s suffrage, abolition, civil rights, disability, visibility, gay, and trans rights. This is social justice ideology. This is Black and brown power. This is Gay Pride. This is '‘Me too.’ This is ‘Live free or die.’ This is Martin’s dream, woke up from Malcolm’s nightmare. This is Sojournal’s truth. What Rosie found so riveting. Why Moses split the sea, why Rosa Parks volunteered to sit in the seat.
“Let’s rise to our feet. We don’t need to be clean and neat. We plan to take to the streets. You all are the inspiration. Look beside you. It’s on the next generation. Young people, this is your fight. It is your right. It is our collective plight. From day to night, we will not sleep until we have made the wrongs right.”

“Today, we remember that the rights that the Trump Administration is attacking were won by powerful united movements like the one we are building right here, from the eight-hour workday to the right to organize at our workplaces,” said co-emcee Sajo Jefferson, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “These rights were not given. They were fought for.

“The women’s movement won widespread abortion access and reproductive services. We are walking in that tradition today. The civil rights movement delivered the single most significant expansion of voting rights this country has ever seen. They want to take those rights away. Are we going to let them? All of these examples vividly illustrate that the moment we’re in is not new. The people of this country, people just like us, have a long history of coming together to break the yoke of the rich on our lives.
“Every time we have won rights or victories for our communities, every time our democracy has expanded, it has been because people like you and me stayed in the streets until we won the freedom we deserve. And that’s what we’re going to do right here. We’ve done it before, and we will do it again. We are going to lead No King’s Day with full confidence that we can and will win.
“Our power lies in our action, and we all took an action to be out in these streets today. Every single one of us has a role to play in building the next movement: the movement that will defeat Trump and transform our country into a real and lasting democracy for all of us. We are building that democracy today.”

After the march, the speaking program got underway.

Lee Clasper-Torch gave the invocation:

“An invocation is a calling in, a welcoming, an invitation, invoking spirit and power, guidance, strength, and peace. Together, friends, we have already invoked this spirit with our marching today. Let’s continue to welcome the light and invoke the spirits of the many revered figures who have gone before us. We are here today as part of a long lineage: Abraham Joshua Heschel, Rabbi, philosopher, and prophet for justice, walked side by side with Martin Luther King Jr. on the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. That is 61 years ago to this month. When asked about his experience of marching, Heschel said, “I was praying with my feet.” Friends, in the face of the injustice and depravity of this regime, marching and protesting become a profound and poetic act of worship and resistance.
“Abraham Joshua Heschel reminds us of the sacredness of this work. Legs are not lips, he says. And walking is not kneeling, yet our legs uttered songs. Today, friends, our legs uttered songs in the street.
“Mahatma Gandhi, the nonviolent liberator of India from repressive colonial rule, reminds us to keep the surging, generative fuel of hope alive. When I despair, Gandhi asserted, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it: always.
“And Martin Luther King, that mighty cultivator of love and fighter for justice. The question, King exclaimed, is not whether we will be extremists, but what extremists we will be. King asks, ‘Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?’ May we here today call upon that spirit of love for justice. May we call upon the spirit of resilience. May we call upon the spirit of perseverance. May we call upon the spirit of power. And along with that musical genius and poetic prophet of truth, Jimi Hendrix, may we as well realize that when the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace, and our country, my friends, will know justice and freedom from this tyranny.
“As Rebecca Solnit writes, the beginning comes after the end. For a new beginning, press on now. Press on. Press on, friends. Amen and amen.”

Alexis Adamonis

“As a transgender young woman, my world has been transformed by the compassion of others. Without that, I would have nothing. I was given the wonderful pleasure of speaking with you today by the love of my friends and family, and it’s been my job throughout my high school career to give back that love. A love so often targeted, stripped, skinned, chopped, and burned by a world that appears so strong, so able to do what it wants to ruin what precious things we have.
“Young trans girls suffer under the tremendous weight of coming into an existence fundamentally different from what they require and coming into a society fundamentally out of touch with who they are. Existence can feel malicious, and society often is. But I’m here today in defiance of that malice because I have Hope, in the words of our state motto. Hope, as an anchor of the soul.
“Roger Williams named this city Providence after the protective compassion of his God, but that safety was more than religious. Outcasts of all types settled in Rhode Island with the hope that their actions would make a better world for their descendants. And what do we see today? Community, nightlife, and art dot every corner. Collective resistance. Crowds populated with brave individuals.
“But we also see ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) invading and kidnapping our community members. We see the attacks on our liberty coming ever closer to our Providence.
“I am angry because the city that protects me has been under unceasing attack for all my life. How can I not be incensed with anger? We are angry because we’ll never be able to buy a house. The environment is collapsing, and local businesses cannot survive. We are furious because our leaders are decades removed from our reality, sending us down a path of destruction. We are afraid because states are rapidly eradicating trans existence, stripping reproductive rights, and rewriting passports.
“This generation is petrified of what the future holds. What can I say that won’t oppress us more, push us further down the path laid out before us by institutions that want us powerless? These attacks are all this generation has ever known. How can we not be incensed with anger? What I can speak about best, through the progress I’ve achieved through queer students, the emotion I’ve inspired, and the smiles I’ve seen, points to one thing: There is a future we can look forward to.
“What’s most important is that, in however you act, Hope. Hope fervently, with true belief and ardent devotion to the self, that things will get better. It is Hope, that fleeting thing, that glimmers and plays in the darkness and pushes us to act with passion, by setting aside that fear. Hope is not just survival. It is clarity. It is action and community power. It is opening our eyes to the darkness and light of the world: The terrible situation and the way out of it; the choosing to do, even though we may not succeed.
“Did the greatest leaders in our history sit around and wait? Did they not inspire? They accomplished magnificent progress for their people. Did they not believe in their own success? I know we can restructure the economy. I know we can prevent a climate catastrophe. I know we can install leaders who actually care. I know we can protect trans rights.
“I know.
“I know we can do all of these things that seem impossible, but are really so achievable with the power of Hope. Providence was built on Hope. Rhode Island was built on Hope. This country was built on Hope, a Hope strong enough to cross an ocean in search of a better life, a Hope strong enough to stand here today. And no broken law, no act of violence, no destructive tyrant has ever destroyed it.
“Call it selfish, call it performative, call it irrational. That’s what they called Dr. King and Sylvia Rivera. If the only thing carrying us to my people’s brightest future is an irrational Hope, an irrational Hope will carry us there.
“It is Hope—organized action or non-existence. We could never have accomplished all we’ve done without it. They want us to be actionless, stagnant, and hopeless, so we refuse. Create the art you’ve been holding back. Register to vote and bring someone with you. Join an organization, build a community. Do not wait. I know it is difficult. The world has made these things difficult for us, but it’s not hard to Hope, no matter how difficult it is. It was Hope that brought me to you today, outside the State House, and I’m telling you here and now: I may not live to see it, but there will be a day when we are free.
“We have Hope. Many trans girls feel nameless and hopeless in the voyage of progress. But to the ones that I know personally, June, Sophie, Ellie, Chloe, Maru, Katie, Luna: I’m afraid too. But in setting aside that fear, I promise we will make this world better for us. To the ones who paid the ultimate price for simply trying to live their lives: Brianna, Charlotte, hallowed me your name. We will make this world better for you because I have the Hope needed to act as fury. We had the passion needed to make this world better for us, to reshape this land in our own image, and to protect what little we have left because this is our Providence, and they can never take it away from us!”

Secretary of State Gregg Amore:

“It’s a little cool out here, but it’s not too bad, and it’s not as bad as it was in Minneapolis, where it was really cold. But those Minnesotans came out to stand up for the Constitution and the rule of law: to stand up for decency.
“As you heard, before I was demoted to Secretary of State, I spent 27 years teaching U.S. history and civics at East Providence High School. To the teachers in the crowd, thank you. You do important work every day. So bear with me while I deliver a little history lesson: For 250 years, with one glaring exception in January of 2021, the American people and defeated candidates have accepted the results of American elections and supported the peaceful transfer of power. This is an exceptional part of the American story. It was the envy of the world, until that day in 2021. In other words: No Kings.
“When the framers of the Constitution (and we should carry the Constitution with us because the Constitution is on our side) wrote, in Article One, Section Four, that the states would determine the time, place, and manner of elections, they were setting up a safeguard against the potential overreach of a chief executive who may talk about nationalizing elections to benefit himself when the electorate had soured upon his leadership. Now, I know that President Trump has never read the Federalist Papers, but I can tell him that in Federalist 59, Alexander Hamilton wrote that the states maintain the power to administer elections, and only in the rarest of occasions may the federal government step in the way—Congress, not the president. The president is not mentioned in the Constitution or in the Federalist Papers regarding elections. In other words: No Kings.
“The framers of the Constitution brilliantly established a decentralized system of elections. So when the President’s Justice Department demands that a Secretary of State unlawfully turn over your private information to create a nationalized voter database to nationalize elections under the guise of voter integrity, I said no. In other words: No Kings.
“When the framers established the judicial branch in Article III of the Constitution and created the process of judicial review, they knew that at some point in our history, a chief executive would go outside the Constitution and break the law. They knew there needed to be a check on that president, so judicial review is essential to our system of checks and balances. In other words: No Kings.
“When the framers wrote Article One, Section Eight of that same Constitution, they gave Congress the power to declare war so that no single person was empowered to take this great nation and her sons and daughters to war without the consent of their elected representatives. In other words: No Kings.
“When the architects of the Fifth and 14th Amendments established the essential right to due process, they intentionally and thoughtfully used the word person and persons, not citizen, to establish those protections. In other words: No Kings.
“This is the year of our nation’s semi-quincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and we should reflect, today and every day, on the most important political paragraph the world has ever seen: That second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, which changed the dynamic between the people and their government, where the people went from being subjects to being citizens. In other words: No Kings.
“Let’s think about the words of that magnificent sentence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...” In other words: No Kings.
“When I travel around the state to classrooms and talk about American history, I often ask the students, when was American democracy born? And they answered 1776, which is a logical answer, or 1789, when the Constitution was ratified, also a logical answer. There’s always some smart woman in one of those classes who says, “When the 19th Amendment was passed, and women were granted the right to vote.” And that’s a reasonable answer. But the right answer is 1965, when Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. That’s when American democracy was born. That’s when American democracy became inclusive, breaking down barriers so that everyone, regardless of race or color, could access the ballot. And since 2013, the federal courts have repeatedly diminished the Voting Rights Act. Congress has refused to reauthorize or pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, so just last week, our office introduced the Rhode Island Voting Rights Act sponsored by Representative Katherine Kazarian and Senate President Valerie Lawson with the support of voting rights advocates, many of whom are here today, to establish those protections against voter dillusion, voter discrimination, voter discretion, and suppression in our laws here in the state of Rhode Island. Call your state senator and your state representative, and tell them to sign on to the Rhode Island Voting Rights Act.
“Now, sometimes we can despair because things look bleak. They looked bleak in March of 1965 when John Lewis lay bleeding at the foot of the Edmond Pettus Bridge, his skull fractured. He was looking to his left. He saw women being beaten by Alabama State Troopers. He looked to his right. He saw clergy being beaten by Alabama State Troopers. He said later that he thought he was going to die on that day on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It had to be the darkest moment of his young life. He must have been thinking to himself, ‘Why doesn’t my country, the country I love, love me back? Will I ever have equality?” But what John Lewis did was he got up. He marched again. He stood up, he spoke up, and five months later, the Voting Rights Act was passed.
“That is the type of determination that we must have today. That is the determination we must have as a nation. It was not policy that stopped what was going on in Minneapolis. It was people. It was people like John Lewis. It was people like those many thousands of Minneapolis residents, Minnesotans, and people from around the country who stood up and said, ‘Enough.’
“In other words: No Kings.”

Ash

“I speak to you all amidst the Middle East, besieged on all sides by American and Israeli forces. I speak to you, one month since the start of America’s violent, unprovoked war on Iran, and the loss of countless civilian lives. I speak to you as Lebanon faces daily barrages of Israeli missiles, as the bombs and missiles of Zionism displace thousands in the south. I speak to you while Palestine is under siege, with Israel blocking aid into the genocide stricken Gaza Strip, while Palestinians in the West Bank face oppression from illegal settlers.
“I speak to you as a member of the Iranian diaspora, watching as the country my family escaped to is bombing the country we came from. To be both Iranian and American is to recognize that here too, in the richest and most powerful country on earth, we, the everyday people, also face threats from all sides. We Americans may not face bombs, but we certainly face the bullets and beatings of ICE locally. Shame. Are we not beset on all sides by poverty and the rising prices of food, rent, healthcare, and every other thing we need to live a normal life? Are we not forcibly beholden to the Epstein class? Do the pedophile CEOs and politicians laugh in their resorts and penthouses while the average American can barely afford to live? Is the land itself not besieged from all sides? Are our ecosystems not decimated? Are our mountains not fracked, our shores not drilled? Are lakes and rivers not poisoned by the data centers of the wealthy elite?
“It has become clear, now more than ever, that working-class people in America are under attack. Not by immigrants or trans people, as the government would make you think, but by the wealthy elites and their grip on our political establishment.
“Some see the struggles of everyday Americans and ask, ‘How can we worry about the Middle East when we can barely put groceries on the table?’ That might be a valid question until we realize that these issues are fundamentally linked. To destroy buildings, bomb schools, kill children, and wage this brutal and unending war, America spends over $1 billion per day. Instead of spending billions to feed the people, fund healthcare and social security, and make American life affordable, Trump has taken our money and used it to commit war crimes in our names.
“Despite bombing the people of Iran in our name, America does not fight for our benefit. Rather, it fights to line the pockets of the wealthy. Is it a coincidence that America’s two major targets, Venezuela and Iran, also happen to be two of the world’s largest oil producers? No. Beyond this, America, as a superpower, wants to expand its global empire. American corporations seek infinite growth and therefore want to extract everything they can from the third world, be it resources, labor, or markets, and who is it that these wealthy elites send across the world to fight and die in their wars? Is it the sons and daughters of the wealthy who die on the front line? No. It is our children they send to die. It is our taxpayer money that funds the imperial war machine. It is our money too that funds the genocidal state of Israel. While our people are kidnapped and murdered on the street by ICE, the Palestinian people are kidnapped and murdered by Israeli security forces.
“This violence is reflective of and fundamentally related to the violence we face at home. It is the same boot that oppresses us both, so the question is not, “How can we worry about the Middle East?” It’s “How can we not worry about the Middle East?” We cannot afford another forever war while the government ignores the issues we’re facing at home. We cannot afford the rising cost of living: gas, rent, and healthcare have all been slashed due to this war. We cannot afford any more of our citizens, Iranian citizens, or Lebanese citizens to be killed. We cannot afford to let them keep lying to us, brutalizing working people here, and oppressing people everywhere. We will not let the Iran war be just like other issues that we watch on the news, just the next long line of crimes against working-class people that Trump and the billionaires have committed. This is our struggle. It is our duty to the civilians of Iran to stand up, and it is our duty to ourselves.
“So if we are oppressed together, then we shall be liberated together. We must unite our struggles, for the fight for Palestinian liberation is also the fight for our own liberation. The anti-war movement is also a pro- democracy movement. The elite want us to be isolated, stuck in our homes, while we lie, paralyzed in fear and uncertainty. History is not made by fear and isolation. It is made here on the streets, in the hands of the everyday people, united against the enemy. We unite not only to fight Trump, but to defeat the system of wealth, empire, and power that pushes men like him to be at the top of the nation.
“To this end, I ask you: Join me and get organized. Whether you protest on the streets to stop America’s wars abroad or you join the local Deportation Defense Network to defend your neighbors from ICE, the only option is to get organized and fight. Make some noise right now if you want a Rhode Island with lower rent. Make some noise if you don’t want to choose between going to the doctor or not going because it’s too expensive. Make some noise if gas prices are too damn high.
“Every time they tell us there is no money for education, healthcare, or housing, they throw billions into war. Trump has now requested $200 billion for a new military budget. Imagine $200 billion. Each billion spent is food taken from our mouths, schools left to fall into disrepair, and Medicare and Medicaid abandoned in pursuit of global war.
“But the power to stop this is within our hands and our own backyard. Rhode Island’s very own Senator Jack Reed has immense influence as a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Fight for your future and demand that Senator Reed say no to this request.
“But the fight does not end there. Start organizing in your workplaces. Unionize. Never forget that the Epstein class requires our labor to fill their pockets. Remember Minnesota and the general strike that projected the power of the people against ICE. The power to strike is in the hands of all working people if only we organize. Don’t let yourself sit idle in workplace exploitation while your paycheck is torn apart by both your corporate bosses and the government that does not represent you. Join the movement. Unite, get organized, and fight for the liberation of all oppressed people worldwide. Money for jobs and education! Not for war and deportation!”

State Representative Michelle McGaw:

“So often I hear, ‘Where are the youth in this movement?’ And my impression, from what we have heard today, is that the youth have this for our future. We have a lot to look forward to. I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you all here today. Your presence sends a message, not just to a federal administration running amok. Your presence here today sends a message to the people of Rhode Island that they are not alone in their anger and frustration. They’re not alone in their sadness and fears. You’re telling our community and the world: We are in this together.
“Join us, because together we are stronger. This is how we build community, and this is how we build power. The federal administration is going to try to divide us. They understand that division makes us weaker. They are trying desperately to turn us against one another so that they have an easier path to whatever is next on their agenda. And so they try to bombard us with propaganda, overreach, and outrage.
“On some days, I know it’s hard. The unnecessary war, the move to upend free and fair elections, and the complete disregard for the U.S. Constitution are hard, and I get that, but we are stronger than that. We know that working together, we are stronger. We are not going to lose sight of what is truly important.
“A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to go to Minneapolis. I went there to stand in solidarity with the people of Minnesota and to collaborate with elected officials from across the country on how we, as states, can stand up against government overreach, and that meaning was powerful and meaningful. I am so grateful for the opportunity, the people I met, and the things I learned. Working with legislators across the country, Rhode Island has put together a package of bills to counter the overreach of this federal administration.
“For example, House Bill 7202 was filed so that when federal officials violate our constitutional rights, we can hold them accountable in civil court. House Bill 7211, the Community Protection Act, would require law enforcement to unmask themselves and display their identification. Bills like House Bill 8140 that would prohibit state and municipal law enforcement from entering into 287(g) agreements with ICE, so our local law enforcement can focus on community safety. I am so grateful to my colleagues in the House and Senate who are dedicated to passing legislation.
“But I came back from Minneapolis with more than I expected. I came back with an understanding that the greatest tool that we have is each other. Our latest strength is unity, compassion, and community. There is no better act of resistance than standing together in peace and solidarity. People across this country are facing what should be unimaginable actions from our federal government, but they’re not shying away. They’re not staying silent. They’ve created small groups to identify better what the people around them need. They have looked within themselves to determine their strengths and how they can share them with those around them. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. Moms gather outside schools at 5 am to make sure kids can get to school safely. In small chat rooms, they identify who needs food or medicine, and they find a way to get those neighbors what they need. Who needs a ride to the doctor, and whose dog needs walking? They wake up at five or six o’clock in the morning, check their messages to see who needs help, and they continue to do so until they rest their eyes at night. Then they wake up the next morning, and they do it all again.
“The people of Minneapolis set an example for us: strength, resilience, and compassion, and I know that we have that here in Rhode Island. I’ve seen it in the people I represent. I’ve seen it in the community groups and the chat groups. I’ve seen it in the people distributing food and in the volunteers helping neighbors across the state. This is what we need to build upon, and this is how we stand up.
“How well do you know your neighbors? Do they have more contact information? Do you have theirs? Do they know that they can count on you?
“This is a call to action to get to know them better, make that connection, and build on those relationships. Today we rally, but tomorrow we won’t let the energy fade until the next time we gather. We’re going to continue to be there for one another. We’re going to continue to be there for our children. We’re going to continue to be there for our neighbors. We’re going to continue to be there for the future of our democracy.
“I went to Minnesota to learn how to fight back. What I learned is that the best tool we have is right here. That strength of community, the heart and soul of the people around us, the compassion, and the willingness to speak out and to help when we are called upon. So I’m asking you today to make that commitment: Will you stand in unity and treat people with kindness? Will you stand in unity to help your neighbors? Will you stand in unity to speak out against discrimination? Will you stand in unity to protect our democracy? Will you stand in unity to protect our constitutional rights? We can’t have a community without unity, and we need every one of you every day.”

Jonathan Jacobs, SEIU

“I am nobody special. That’s not entirely true. I have a remarkably small head. I have to buy my hats in the kids’ section. It feels good to get that off my chest. I’ve never admitted that to thousands of people before. I’m a career public servant with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. I am a proud union member. And I chair the committee on political education for the Rhode Island Employment Security Alliance, Local 401 SEIU. I am on the East Providence Zoning Board. I coach a youth soccer team. I am a father of two, a son of two, and a husband of one.
“So you’re probably asking yourselves, why is this pinhead? That’s a medical term, by the way. Why is this pinhead shouting his LinkedIn profile at us? That’s a fair question. It’s because each of these credentials connects me to a network, a community dedicated to a mission bigger and more important than just me and my tiny, tiny head. And that is powerful.
“What is power? To Donald Trump, money is power. Violence is power. Fear is power. Donald Trump only feels powerful by disempowering others. Other people only exist to feed him power, to which he feels entitled, like a king. To him, accumulating riches is more important than your rights, health, or children. To him, his comfort is more important than your safety. To him, his ego is more important than your pursuit of happiness, your liberty, your life, or our Constitution. To him, there is nothing greater than him, like a king. And as Donald Trump gets richer, people in America and beyond are struggling. They are struggling for dignity, opportunity, shelter, and sustenance. Trump chooses to allocate our nation’s resources to terrorize vulnerable people in our streets and bomb vulnerable people abroad, and he does so in our names, like a coward.
“It’s disheartening. I mean, what do you do when processing the morning headlines and the evening news feels like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon? Here’s my suggestion: Be a part of something bigger than yourself. Be a part of the democratic process. Register to vote and show up to vote. Register other people to vote. If you’re so inclined, run for office yourself. If not, help someone else’s campaign, someone you believe in. Advocate for issues like rent stabilization or taxing the rich. Organize. Organize. Organize. Join a union if you can. Unions are a democracy in the workplace. If you believe democracy is worth preserving, you have to be a part of it. That’s the only way it works.
“I stand up here today not only with members of SEIU but also with representatives of many labor organizations affiliated with AFL-CIO. We may have different jobs and logos, and we wear different colors. But at the end of the day, I know that if union workers are being treated unfairly, my brothers, sisters, and friends beyond the binary at SEIU will stand with them in solidarity until their grievances are addressed. I know they will do the same for me. That’s real power. I, for one, know in my lifetime, I am far more likely to build a coalition to help others than I am of ever becoming a billionaire. That’s why I devote my time to working in solidarity with a movement of compassion over resentment, of hope over cynicism, and love over hate. That is real power.
“I want you to look around you. Meet the eyes of the stranger. Smile. Now you have an ally. You know you’re here for the same purpose. Do you feel that? That feeling is solidarity. That is real power. Deep down, I suspect our would-be king knows his idea of power is as cheap as the spray-paint wall sconces he attached to the White House walls. That’s why he’ll say there weren’t as many people here and across the country raising voices in opposition to his self-serving agenda as there clearly are. And that’s why he’ll accuse those of us here of being paid actors. Let me say for the record, I wasn’t paid a dime to be here today. I protest fascists for fun.
“Protests are great, right? I mean, this feels good, right? But democracy demands daily actions. We need to build a habit of democracy. Build the habit of democracy in your own lives and set an example that inspires and builds your own communities. Empower each other, but while we are here, let’s have a little fun. Let’s send Donald Trump a message he can’t ignore: we stand united in our commitment to civil rights, human dignity, and the Constitution of the United States of America. Repeat after me: We are the people, We have the power. We are the people, we have the power. We are the people, we have the power. We are the people, we have the power.”

Autumn Guillotte, AFL-CIO

“I’m the political director with the Rhode Island AFL CIO. We are a federation of unions in the state of Rhode Island. We represent over 80,000 workers in the state. And we are the labor movement. I am a proud union member. I’m the daughter of a union teacher. I come from a long line of women who work for a living. Our members are proud of the work that they do. Union members build our state. They teach our kids. They drive our buses. They care for us in hospitals and nursing homes. They clean our hotels. They work in our airports and in our government. We make Rhode Island work.
“You know who doesn’t work for a living? Billionaires. Kings. Dictators. They don’t need to. They steal our labor. They steal our tax dollars and our hard work to make them richer.
“There is nothing wrong with working for a living. But what are you going to do if you lose your job? Just this past Christmas, Trump tried to put hundreds of Rhode Islanders out of work when he attacked the Revolution Wind Farm. What did we do? We put workers first. We, as a labor movement, stood together in solidarity, and we finished that job. Thousands of Rhode Islanders have already lost their health insurance because Trump attacked the federal tax credit, Medicare, and Medicaid. Premiums are on the rise with no end in sight. When you lose your healthcare, what will you do?
“Fight back.
“When you can’t afford gas. When you can’t take the bus because of cuts to public transit. When you can’t afford heat, electricity, or groceries, what are you going to do? We’re going to fight back. When you lose your home, because the rent spikes and the landlord kicks you out, or because you can’t keep up with ballooning mortgage payments and the bank forecloses, what are you going to do? Fight back.
“Trump is not worried about these things. He and his billionaire friends don’t have to worry about feeding their kids or paying for mom’s meds. This administration is coming for our jobs, unions, homes, and healthcare, so what are we going to do?
“We are going to register everyone we know to vote, and then we’re going to vote. We are going to call our reps and our senators, and we’re going to tell them to tax the rich. When the choice comes down to millionaires or Rhode Islanders and their ability to feed their families and go to the doctors, I choose us, the working class, every time.
“We are going to pass rent stabilization in the City of Providence. This is a city where people live, not just work. And when ICE comes for our neighbors, what are we going to do? Fight back! This is what we have always done on the picket lines, and here today. Because when we fight, we win!”

Sophia Wright, Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance (AMOR)

“AMOR is a founding organizing partner with the Deportation Defense Network of Rhode Island. We have been organizing our immigrant community against detention and deportation since Trump’s first administration in 2017.
“We’re here today to speak to this historic political moment. In Rhode Island, we’ve seen ICE kidnap people off our streets and witnessed our families detained by ICE under conditions of profound neglect at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. We have repeatedly received reports that medical staff are withholding medications and giving Tylenol to minimize costs and maximize profit. That means that people with conditions that require daily medication, like diabetes, heart conditions, sickle cell, and cancer, see their conditions worsen as a result of the prison’s refusal to provide care. ICE detention centers are not care facilities. That is why we need your support to pass legislation to remove ICE from the Wyatt.
“This year, we have seen people transferred from the Wyatt, at unprecedented rates, to other parts of the country: to be disappeared into the immigrant detention system, separated from their support systems, and ultimately deported. Our team has supported folks deported to countries they have never set foot in, without any identity documents or money, just the clothes on their backs. Across the country, we have witnessed ICE agents intimidate activists, silence political speech, and even brutalize and murder us.
“One of the most blatant examples is the targeting of student activists speaking up against genocide in Palestine. But we know, every time our neighbors from Black, indigenous, and Arab nations are picked up and removed from our communities, a political statement is being made about who belongs here. Will we let them decide who belongs here?
“In the U.S., citizenship has always been tied to a politics of white supremacy, where some countries, races, and classes of people are fast-tracked to become citizens. In contrast, others are forced to accept seasonal, temporary work permits or to live in the shadows to support their families. At the same time, they navigate an expensive, uncertain, and decades-long process to gain permanent residency. These moments of sheer brutality are opportunities for our community to demand even more than what was taken from us.
“Right now, we don’t only need to get back what we’ve lost. We need to demand the world we want to live in: a world where our value is not measured by our ability to extract profit from our bodies and the land, but where all life is honored and cared for. This community understands that we can’t wait for someone to save us. Every day, we come together to make history. That’s why we are building a movement that unites all of us. This past year was designed to demobilize and disempower us, but we know that this administration can’t sustain its agenda if we rise and stop cooperating with their new normal. The Deportation Defense Line is a network of community members who are mobilized to show up when ICE is spotted in our community.

“You can get involved by texting ‘Defense’ to 401-675-1414. When you call the defense line, our verifiers will show up, and we will call for mobilization to have our community kick ICE out of all of our communities.

“Next month will mark the 20th anniversary of the Day Without Immigrants, when we defeated the Sensenbrenner bill, which would have made being undocumented a felony. In 2006, thousands of people across the country mobilized, withheld their labor, and prevented this bill from becoming law. Today, we take strength from those who came before us and commit to preparing ourselves for a general strike on May 1st. Coming to a protest is a first step to sustained organizing. Sustained organizing is what helps us win against worker exploitation, against simphobia, against U.S. imperialism, war, and resource extraction.
“We find ourselves here for different reasons, but we share a common understanding: Your humanity is tied to my own. We will not tolerate a society where the violation of our rights is the norm. We will stand up to protect our voting rights, the rights of immigrants, the sovereignty of our indigenous nations, the rights of our LGBTQ communities, our right to free speech and a free press, and our rights to a healthy climate. That is why we demand an end to ICE detention. ICE agents out of Rhode Island, off our streets, and free all our people. Abolish ICE!”