With the smell of rain on the wind, thousands of people gathered across DFW to take part in the third round of No Kings protests on March 28. Dallas City Hall saw around 1000 protesters and a dozen speakers during the demonstration. Many came enthusiastic and ready to get involved with one of the several organizations in attendance.
“When we say no kings, we say no to the authoritarianism of Donald Trump. We say no war on Iran, and we say abolish ICE. But no kings does not just mean no Donald Trump, it also means that we say no to the corporations and the billionaires, and the billionaire class that he belongs to,” said Brinda Gurumoorthy, co-chair of Democratic Socialists of America North Texas.
Counter-protesters marched ahead of the No Kings march, including conservative influencer Alex Stein, accompanied by a masked man who was later handcuffed by Dallas police after taking part in a violent altercation with protesters. Shortly after the masked man’s arrest, another counter-protester began to wave a Trump 2024 flag in front of the police escort.
Protesters like Eddie Melendez said he attended to push back against all the wars going on and all the unneeded hate going on in. The United States and the world today. Organizers expressed similar sentiments.
“We are resisting authoritarianism here,” said Samantha Mitchell, Co-lead of Indivisible Dallas. “We see a lot of signs of our democracy being eroded and we are throwing this rally to galvanize people who are upset at what’s happening and so that they can get more plugged in to some of the local organizations that are resisting fascism.”
“The state of Texas is a billionaire’s paradise,” said Gurumoorthy. “Texas cuts taxes for corporations but pays its workers super low wages and makes it as difficult as possible for them to form unions and fight for their rights.” Gurumoorthy went on to call the working class to action and organization.
Stephanie Williams, an organizer for Black Voters Matter Fund, took her speaking time to shed light on the struggles of black communities and how they intersect with the No Kings movement against authoritarianism. “Being pushed out of fair maps, locked out of access to healthcare, denied resources and investments, targeted by policies meant to silence our voices… We’ve seen communities lose access to hospitals, lose access to fresh food, lose access to opportunities.”
The Dallas events of No Kings 3 were organized by Indivisible, a volunteer led organization committed to fostering civic participation and inspiring our community to protect their rights and push back against authoritarianism. After the dozen speakers, the crowd took to the streets, marching in a loop
through downtown.
