No Kings protest in Jamestown on Saturday, March 28. Via Cindi Psychos
A significant swath of people gathered on Mill Hill in Jamestown Saturday to voice concerns about the Trump administration’s stance on leadership and policy, propelled by what one attendee, Roberta Anderson, calls “immense cruelty” enacted by the administration. The protester’s signs called for a return to democracy, an end to the war in Iran, voter rights, and human rights.
When asked what was on the forefront of Anderson’s mind, she said, “I’m thinking of all the money that has gone into all the things to tear down our country, when there are so many people that have no money, no food, have children [and] no way to support them, and they’ve lost their insurance now. Thousands of people have lost their jobs. People at the veterans organizations have lost their jobs. Lots of federal employees have lost their jobs,” she says, “thousands of people are suffering.”
Despite this, Roberta Anderson finds positivity in what she loves about the United States. “Look at all these beautiful people,” she says as she looks at the group, ” I was standing here, watching this whole crowd coming toward me with all their signs and everything. It just brought tears to my eyes, because this is our country.” She sings out a mantra: “This is my country,” and says, “there’s a whole other side of this country that’s just beautiful.”
National organizers claim this round of protests saw a historic turnout, with 8 million people said to have attended the 3,300 events across the country. That number has not been verified by independent analysts, but the only single-day American protest in history that can beat that was the first Earth Day in 1970, when an estimated 20 million people participated in environmental rallies. Around 150 people turned up Saturday in Jamestown.
Olivia Schloegel, a volunteer community organizer and former state Senate candidate, wants the community of Jamestown to work together to make their voices heard. “I just want to bring people together to kind of connect the causes they care about to places where they can make a difference around those causes, and challenges, and solutions,” she says as we stand in front of Newman Signs. “I think each time we do these gatherings, we have a different mix of people. We have some people who come every single time, and then each time someone I meet is new,” she says, “I think that kind of rolling, layered support and response shows that, you know, we have a persistent need to keep showing up.”
The SAVE act was also in contention at the Saturday protest. Olivia Schloegel emphasizes that there are mechanisms in place to keep our elections secure and effective. Though the GOP has justified this bill by citing cases of noncitizens voting, which data suggests is extremely rare, Democrats say this act will make it difficult for millions of citizens to vote. Non-citizen voting has been a federal crime since 1996, and vote.org says the SAVE act would make voting more difficult for 69 million married women, an estimated 21 million eligible voters without easy access to the required documents, and 3.8 million without access at all. Increased requirements for voters to prove their citizenship and identity will likely incur extra costs, making voting insurmountable for some eligible voters. To combat this, Schloegel urges community members to stay informed and empower others to vote. “I think… we shouldn’t underestimate the power of rhetoric. So if people feel like their vote doesn’t matter, or that they’re going to be turned away at the polls, that’s a tool in itself that authoritarians use to suppress our people power. And we have to do what we can to push back against that.”
To find out what’s on your ballot, check voting requirements, and find your polling place, visit vote411.org.
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