Last Saturday, hundreds gathered at Railroad Park for a “No Kings Day” rally organized by Birmingham Indivisible, voicing concerns about the direction of U.S. politics and calling for greater civic engagement. Demonstrators filled the park carrying signs, flags and other displays expressing political messages.
Birmingham Indivisible is a local chapter of the national Indivisible movement, a grassroots political organization formed after the 2016 election to promote civic engagement and oppose policies seen as harmful to democratic institutions. The “No Kings Day” rally is part of a broader nationwide movement opposing authoritarian leadership and emphasizing democratic values.
Chris Soniat, co-leader of the group’s events team, helped organize the rally alongside his wife. He said the protest was motivated by what he saw as a decline in democratic values.
“Our country has taken a really negative turn in the last several decades, but especially during both Trump administrations, we’ve seen a slide toward authoritarianism and away from democracy,” Soniat said. “That’s why we are doing this rally — to celebrate the value of democracy and to say this is not the way we want our government to be.”
One participant, who identified himself as Mace, stated, “Trump’s reign is not only killing the people but killing the planet, and it is extending to other countries, it is f—— absurd”.
Christopher, who declined to provide his last name, is a 2017 graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and attended the protest to encourage participation.
“We are out here just to support everyone else’s participation because we do have a choice to make, and it’s definitely not supporting people that are in power now. So the only thing we can do is vote and protest. Just get out and have our voices actually heard. That’s it, and here we are,” Christopher stated.
Elsewhere in the park, Marco Huerta waved a flag referencing the anime series One Piece. He connected its themes to his reasons for attending.
“People are having problems paying for groceries and gas, and President Trump doesn’t seem to care,” Huerta said. “Quiero representar a los latinos tambien, and just stand up for anybody. The people who know One Piece know what Luffy stands for – he stands for freedom, he wants to be the freest person in the ocean. He always stands up for the little ones, no matter what, and that’s exactly what we should be doing! We should be standing up for our fellow people and together as one, accepting our differences!”
Dominique Chenney, a local activist, stated her discontent with the current administration and recent events.
“We shouldn’t even be here right now. I don’t see how this man is in office. In his first term, he put children in literal cages, and I have no clue how we are here again. We are at war with Iran, and Congress did not approve that. So no, we should not be at war, and he thinks he is a king that can declare war without Congress, that’s not right,” Chenney stated.
