Tag: Trump

Local groups plan for upcoming No Kings events

In nationwide day of protest, demonstrators will oppose Trump actions
by Natalie Hanson and Leslie Layton | Posted October 15, 2025

Butte County groups are planning a day of peaceful protesting Oct. 18 on what will be the second national No Kings day. Protests are planned across the country to oppose assaults on free speech, civil rights and democratic norms in general.

A No Kings march will begin at 10 a.m. in downtown Chico, organized by the Defenders of Democracy Coalition. Those interested in marching should meet at the Our Hands sculpture at 160 East Fourth St. The march will also end at this location at 11:30 a.m. 

 A noon festival with community activities and a vigil at Veterans Memorial Park (formerly Wildwood Park) will follow. That event is organized by Indivisible Chico, and Chico State’s Gender & Sexuality Equity Coalition (GSEC) will participate. read more

‘Signs of Resistance’ protesters line the Esplanade

by Leslie Layton | Posted April 19, 2025

photo by Leslie Layton
Charles Barnes of Forest Ranch said he showed up today because “it’s an emergency.”

About 850 protesters turned out for the “Signs of Resistance – No Kings!” protest today in Chico, lining the Esplanade with anti-Trump Administration signage almost as far north as Chico Nut Company. The Esplanade sometimes became raucous with passing vehicles honking their support.

Some demonstrators hoisted signs encouraging supportive honking, and in general signs protested the administration’s radical approach to government reform and its movement to concentrate power in the executive branch. Signs were waved in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the immigrant who was shipped to an El Salvador prison because of an administrative error, and in opposition to cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

The protest was organized by a group of local organizations and coincided with a national day of protest. Reuters reports that thousands of people rallied against the Trump agenda across the country, and protests were held in places outside the country, such as Merida, Mexico.

Chico’s Janet Leslie said she hoped the protest would “remove some of the fear of standing up for what we hold dear.” She said she wanted people to see that “we can come out.”

For Which it Stands

by Danielle Alexich | Posted November 6, 2024

photo by Tania Flores
Graffiti in Oakland, Calif.

I would give myself an A plus.
Nobody has done what I’ve been able to do.
–Donald Trump

Grade school mornings
we faced the flag,
hands over hearts,
pride of a nation pulsing inside us.
We compared report cards,
took cuts in line at recess,
played dodgeball in the thin Oakland fog.
Across town and on TV,
dark people got dragged away in handcuffs.
If we saw a drunk collapsed on the street,
we were told not to stare.
People dreamed of getting rich.

Years later, we heard about other countries.
Epidemics, famine, hospitals bombed.
Our kids pleaded for Happy Meals
while foreign children covered with flies
slumped in the dirt.
Thank God we lived in America.

Now, upset by massacres
where we learn, dance, shop and pray,
we face our flat screens,
flip through channels,
and recall a man with jutted chin
shouting to the cheering crowd.
I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue
and shoot somebody
and I wouldn’t lose voters.

Flags wave in the hot wind.
Our doors are locked.
Junkies crouch on streets
like a row of dark question marks.
One nation,
indivisible.

Danielle Alexich is a retired educator who loves family, dogs, culture and the outdoors. She hopes the experiences she shares in her writing speak to others.

‘Mobilize Chico’ opposes racism, supports community members

Trump presidency propels activism
by ChicoSol staff | Posted January 26, 2017

photo by Dave Waddell
 

photo by Dave Waddell

Mobilize Chico demonstration

by Dave Waddell

Chris Nichols, a retired school teacher and counselor, had never gone in much for activism. That all changed with the election of President Donald Trump.

“All of a sudden, I’m upset,” she said.

On Jan. 25, Nichols was standing with seven others from the group Mobilize Chico at the intersection of Warner and West Sacramento avenues holding a pink sign with the message: “Stay Loud 4 Equality.”

The group’s demonstration was called “Signs for Solidarity.” Its purpose was to show support for community members who have been victimized by racist actions in Chico.

Members from Mobilize Chico met recently at Chico State’s Cross-Cultural Leadership Center and heard from students who experienced hateful acts.

“It was pretty compelling,” Nichols said.

Another activist, Brianne Epley, who was wearing heart-shaped sunglasses, held a multi-colored sign with multiple messages, including “Black Lives Matter” and “Immigrants Make America Great.”

“We don’t want racism to be the loudest voice in our community,” Epley said.

Epley said Mobilize Chico has held several demonstrations in response to the Trump presidency, including one that attracted 40 activists in the rain.

Sometimes the demonstrators are heckled with chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump!,” a revved engine, or a Nazi salute, they said.

Trumped up hate biggest thing to fear

Undocumented students and others are anxious
by Kate Sheehy | Posted November 10, 2016
katesheehy

Across the country Wednesday morning people woke up to face the unexpected. It’s fair to say that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton supporters alike were dealing with shock.

It seems all along there was a “silent vote” for the former reality TV star that gave him the edge he needed to beat Clinton. Pollsters were not aware. Political pundits were not aware. The best research a campaign could buy could not identify the hidden resentment harbored by thousands who were not visible among the raucous Trump base.

So on the morning after the election as people turned on their radios and TVs and opened their newspapers, they were reminded that the United States is not the country they might have thought it was. For millions of Americans it was a terrifying wake up call. read more