A large crowd of Lowell community members turned out Saturday to peacefully protest as part of the nationwide “No Kings – Day of Defiance.”
About 400 people met on the Riverwalk Plaza and marched west on Main Street as busy Saturday traffic honked and waved. They then crossed the street and marched east as they returned to the plaza. Gathered protesters covered the length of the area from the boat launch north of downtown to the area in front of the Lowell Showboat.
The protest was peaceful with members carrying signs and sometimes chanting, “Donald Trump has got to go.” Most signs indicated displeasure in policies undertaken by the Trump administration. These included Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and deportations of immigrants and what is being seen as the President’s overreach of executive powers and lack of attention to the Constitutional rights of U.S residents.
There were about 50 cities in Michigan that participated in the protests and, according to the No Kings Day website, 2,169 cities participated nationwide. Estimates are that about five million people participated in total. The protests were organized on the same day as the President’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States Army forming and Flag Day. It was also President Trump’s 79th birthday.
The Lowell event was organized by resident Nicole Anderson who said she hoped the day would be an opportunity for Lowell as a small community to be able to be a part of the larger national protest. She also hopes people can begin to not see each other negatively because they have differing political views.
“I am hoping it will break barriers like the anger,” Anderson said. “I am very good friends with people who disagree with my democrat ideals. We are definitely a long way away from that, but I just firmly believe the Golden Rule. Be kind and others will be kind to you. That’s what this is all about.”
Anderson said the larger than expected turnout made her feel “humbled and overwhelmed in such a good way.” She hopes to organize other events with the goal being not only protesting something negative but also adding kindness and empathy to the equation.
Lowell resident Tristan Harrington carried an American flag and said he attended the protest to stand up for people’s rights, the Constitution, and the rule of law as he sees those things very much in jeopardy.
“Coming out here and showing solidarity to the Constitution and the rule of law is pretty important to me,” Harrington said.
Abigail Sweeney attended the event to protest the priorities the current administration is pushing.
“I’m here today because I think that spending $45 million on a military parade while cutting Medicaid, Medicare, food stamp programs and other essential services for average Americans is absurd,” Sweeney said.
Protesting along with her, Megan Middlemiss said her children are what motivated her to attend the event.
“I’m here for my children. I want them to have a diverse world, a happy world. I want everyone to feel welcome here and have the freedom to express themselves,” Middlemiss said.
Many of the protesters held signs criticizing the deportation of immigrants under the Trump administration. Carla Cook said her loved ones and her concern for them are what is making her take a stand.
“I’m here because I’m against Trump. No kings. Immigrants need to be here. I have relatives, I have a great grandson that is one, and a grandson, and cousins, and they’re afraid,” she said.
Sharon Ellison from the local group We Care spoke after the walk on Main Street as the crowd was beginning to disperse.
“We don’t do kings. What do we do? We do joy. We do equality. We do kindness. We do acceptance, and we do freedom. We stand for freedom, democracy, we want to reclaim what it means to be an American and turn it back into something we can all be proud of.”
I don’t support this. But at least it was people exercising their rights. Much better than the disgusting Lowell Pride event which brought nothing of value to the city.
Nor do you.
Steve – You say “at least it was people exercising their rights” and then follow with “the disgusting Lowell Pride event”. Weren’t they ALL exercising their rights? Let’s just think about this for a minute.
Why do I suspect that a majority of these people didn’t have an issue with a totalitarian government when our fascist governor put them on house arrest for almost two years? I guess it’s not surprising coming from the demographic with the highest diagnosed levels of mental illness.
Shame on you! I can assure you the only one with mental illness is you.
Newsflash people: we have not had long since 1776 when we signed the Declaration Of Independence and then won our freedom from England! Also those being up are here ILLEGALLY! Make me understand why it’s so bad to get rid of people here Illegally! Come here Legally, obey the laws and no issues! As other countries, you try and enter illegally, claiming as a “asylum seeker” they won’t care. They will toss you in jail and then send you back to your home country, banned from entering for a certain period or up to a lifetime ban! If it’s so bad, gotto the nearest safe place first! Most countries will have an embassy you can go too!!!
It was really great to see the crowd size, and see how many people driving past were supportive too. Big thanks to the LPD for keeping everyone safe and secure with the road crossings.