Editor’s note: The following is a press release from Greylock Together.
North Adams — Volunteers met this week confirming details of a Saturday, October 18, peaceful, nonviolent protest they hope will draw record crowds to public downtown spaces. “No Kings North Adams” is one among at least 2,200 localized “No Kings” rallies across America, aimed at restoring government by and for the people. The countywide organizers for the “No Kings” events will gather for a press conference on Wednesday, October 15, at the Silvio Conte Federal Building in Pittsfield. Exact time and details are forthcoming. They will share their unified vision for the upcoming day of action.
The North Adams gathering from noon to 2 p.m. outside City Hall will include community speakers, music from local artist and community organizer Peter Glazer, and a chance for participants to express their increasing concerns about the country’s direction. Volunteer organizers are coordinating with at least eight other Berkshire County “No Kings” rallies also set for October 18.
Updates on speakers and details about parking for the gathering outside City Hall will be available here, the website of GreylockTogether.org, and the I Lean For Justice Facebook page. Click here to optionally register your support and RSVP for what is billed as the largest peaceful protest in modern American history.
“The country we love is in crisis,” says Eileen Gloster, organizer of I Lean For Justice, a group that holds resistance rallies weekly outside North Adams City Hall on Saturdays. “The Trump administration shows such contempt toward its neighbors, allies, constituents—even to its own supporters,” Gloster says. “The signs people bring to the rallies show that they are fed up with Trump taking from the vulnerable while giving tax breaks to the wealthy. They’re fed up with his attacks on free speech, due process, and his defiance of decisions from the Supreme Court and laws of Congress.”
“No Kings North Adams” will draw people from Adams, North Adams, Williamstown, and surrounding areas. At least eight other rallies are scheduled elsewhere in Berkshire County and in Bennington, Vt. These organizers have been working together since this past spring as a “No Kings” Berkshire County coalition team. The October 18 protest is a continuation of an effort ongoing since a June 14 “No Kings” day drew more than 600 people to North Adams, and an estimated 5 million nationwide. Nationwide organizing is coordinated by the group Indivisible.org, along with a vast number of grassroots partnering groups.
“No Kings” refers to the 13 original American colonies. In 1776, the original states declared independence from the British crown, which had exercised arbitrary powers over taxation, assembly, and rights. The colonies instead asserted the formation of a new form of self government by and for the people called democracy. The “No Kings” movement asserts that Donald Trump seeks to govern like a dictatorial king unaccountable to the people.
“Our guiding principles ask that each person joining ‘No Kings’ rallies and standouts commit to peaceful nonviolence and awareness of their civil rights to assemble and petition,” says Wendy Penner, a Greylock Together (Indivisible) leader and volunteer helping organize “No Kings North Adams.” “Massive assemblies move politics, and all politics is local.” she says. “This is another opportunity to start conversations about how we’re going to care for each other and for our communities.”
For immigrants and the general public, “Know Your Rights” cards are available for download or from October 18 organizers. “No Kings North Adams” organizers ask that attendees please bring non-perishable food items to the rally for collection and subsequent distribution to the Berkshire Food Project and Al Nelson Friendship Center in North Adams, the Council on Aging in Adams, and the Williamstown Food Pantry. If you prefer to donate cat and/or dog food, we will deliver it to the local humane society.
“No Kings” is a massive mobilization responding to what participants see as authoritarian-like excesses and corruption of the Trump administration targeting immigrant families, racial profiling, warrantless arrests, and the detention of people, even U.S. citizens. The administration has pushed through policies that are gutting healthcare funding, environmental protections, and science and health research, while driving up the costs of living for food, housing, and education—all while extending tax breaks for the rich.
