By PAULINA MATA/Managing Editor and KARLEIGH YANCY/Editor-In-Chief
Over 1,200 demonstrators gathered in Tyler on June 14 as a part of the “No Kings” movement being held across the country.
The movement is an opposition to President Trump’s administration and the military parade commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Army, which coincided with Flag Day and Trump’s 79th birthday on Saturday.
“ One of the goals is community,” Cathy Thomas, an organizer from Indivisible, said. “To just let people know that we’re here and we’re getting a lot of people in our mailing list.”
“And just letting people know that there are other people here who feel the same way they do, who feel a little bit threatened that our democracy is in danger, that the constitution isn’t being followed,” Thomas added. “The courts are becoming maybe a little irrelevant to the current president. Yeah, we’re concerned about that.”
Tyler’s demonstration was organized by Indivisible Smith County, the Smith County Democratic Party, Young Democrats of Smith County and Northeast Texas National Organization for Women.
SPEAKING VOLUMES
Student-led organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine at UT Tyler and East Texas Monarchs were also in attendance.
“ It’s funny because 20 years ago, 30 years ago, we never seen kids,” Smith County Democratic Chairmain Hector Garza said. “It was always the 50, 60, 70 year olds. And you look around today and you see all these young kids. But you see all these young kids and, you know, just their statements alone speak volumes. You know, they’re getting involved, so it’s really good to see.”
“ I wanted to come out here to speak against the fascist dictator President Donald Trump for deporting the immigrant families of America,” SJP member and demonstrator Jad Absy said. “I know plenty of friends and family that are not from this country, but it’s a friendly reminder that none of us are from this country. We’re all immigrants.”
People of all ages and backgrounds lined Bergfeld Park with signs, chants and flags. People driving through S Broadway Ave. signaled their support with either honks and cheers or even by holding their own signs out the car windows.
American flags wave through the crowd, most upside down or altered in some way. Maddy Wilson holds an upside down quilted flag, made of patterned red, white and blue fabrics.
“ Earlier this week, I just felt so, what’s the word I’m looking for? Drained. I’ve been drained. I just feel like it’s gone and out,” Wilson said. “I’ve been uninspired. Unmotivated. And then I see, saw that people were starting up the ‘No Kings’ protest and I was like, finally, there’s other people like me. There’s more people out there than I.”
“ I think everything that is currently going on is just absolutely ridiculous in our country,” Tiffany Pollard, a demonstrator, said. “We have no kings. We should have no tyranny and everyone should have their right to protest and be here.”
“WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT”
About 350 people registered for the event beforehand, Thomas said. An estimated total of 1200 joined over the course of the two-and-a-half hour long demonstration, according to Garza.
The demonstration was more than just a call out for the current administration, though. The event allowed for the gathering of what may seem to be a small community in a largely conservative state.
Wilson explains her experience at the demonstration.
“ The current office is trying to make us feel like we’re a small majority or a small minority, and that we’re the only ones that [are] crazy and that the world is just filled with MAGA,” she said.
“But it’s not true,” Wilson said. “And I didn’t realize how many people were gonna be here and it feels great. I’m part of a community now. I’m making friends, I’m meeting people that are just like me and usually I’m around people who are not like me at all. So this is a great experience for me.”
The people gathered, chanted and excercised their first amendment rights. So what’s next?
“ What I wanna see in Tyler is, aside from the unity, aside from the people getting together, what I wanna see is people going to our lawmakers, people actually saying, you know, this is what Tyler wants,” Garza said.
“This is what Smith wants. The days of the old agenda and doing it my way are over. The people are speaking loud and clear and they’re letting our congressmen, they’re letting our officials know that we have a voice and this is what we want. You know, we don’t want your political agenda. This is what the people want. This is what we’re speaking for.”
PUSHBACK
Protests against ICE in Los Angeles preceded “No Kings” Day the week prior. Demonstrators there were met with tear gas and rubber pellets from authorities over the course of the days long protests.
Despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s deployment of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers ahead of “No Kings” Day, Tyler’s demonstration was peaceful and had no pushback from local and state authorities or disagreeing civilians.
“ There’s always like a little underlying threat out there when you’re having an event this big and you know that there are people out there who oppose what we stand for,” Thomas said. “And we’ve heard that there were a lot of threats in Austin. You know, we haven’t experienced anything here yet today. Yeah. It’s been pretty positive. We’re getting a lot of really good feedback from the drive-bys.”
From honking horns to revving engines, the support from S Broadway Ave matched Bergfeld Park’s energy. The event wasn’t without any disturbances, however.
One notable defying entity was a jeep decked out in Trump flags and stickers. The unidentified driver made several laps around the park throughout the demonstration, not letting protestors forget the reason they are there.
Still, the Trump jeep did little to dampen the crowd’s spirits. If anything, his presence made their chants louder.
“ We’re just, we’re so gratified by [the turnout],” Thomas said. “We think that sometimes people are afraid to come out, like I said, because they’re afraid of the pushback. They’re even afraid of the exposure. But I think this makes people feel a lot more confident that they’re not the only ones and that we all just really love our country. We are patriots and we want our democracy to survive.”
GALLERY
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