A crowd of more than 4,000 people joined the June 14 No Kings Day march in Chico as anti-Trump mobilizations were underway in more than 2,100 cities across the country and world.
In Chico, the mood was spirited, determined and even jubilant as demonstrators packed the sidewalk on the march route – from the Our Hands sculpture, around City Plaza, down Broadway and back again. But the crowd was so huge that at times the walk moved slowly as more people joined, and the march route circle was in some cases made several times. Monitors were posted at all intersections and passing vehicles honked in support. Organizers said there may have been as many 6,000 people in attendance; many couldn’t be counted because they remained in the Fred Davis Municipal Center plaza.
The overriding theme was a protest against Trump authoritarianism on a day that the president celebrated his birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary with a military parade. But it was also Flag Day, and demonstrators carried many American flags and a few Mexican flags.
“We’re here to fight back against fascism and for LGBTQ rights, said Xina Hernandez, an Oroville resident who was marching with her wife. “We worry they’ll cancel our marriage, but it’s everybody’s rights” that are at stake, she said.
The crowd was diverse, including families with small children, senior citizens, students and recent college graduates. Signs protested the ICE raids that have sent agents chasing through California fields to catch farmworkers, detentions of migrant workers, college students and children, and the military parade expenditure that could run as high as $45 million.
Millions of people took to the streets in protest around the world after a turbulent week in U.S. and international politics and the day after what has been described as a “politically-motivated” assassination in Minnesota.
The event was organized by Indivisible Chico, the Democratic Action Club of Chico (DACC), Chico Peace Alliance, and the broader Defenders of Democracy Coalition and advertised as a “No Kings – Take Back Our Flag!” march. As it wound up around noon, a large group of mostly younger people continued milling in front of the municipal building, dancing to the beat of drums and chanting “No KKK, no fascist USA, no Trump.”
In Corning – a town of some 8,000 people that is about half Latino – a lone protester was seen at the corner of Solano and Toomes streets. A woman stood waving an American flag that had been scrawled with “No kings.”
Leslie Layton is editor of ChicoSol.