By: Grace Dumas, News of the North
The No Kings movement returned for a third nationwide day of action today at Overstreet Park.
‘No Kings’ Juneau is just one of more than 3,000 events across the United States, including roughly 23 in Alaska alone, according to Anjuli Grantham From Juneau for Democracy, who has organized this protest alongside the Re-Sisters and Juneau Indivisible.
The demonstrations are aimed at denouncing what participants see as a slide toward authoritarianism and demanding the protection of democratic institutions.
“The first (No Kings Rally) was one of the largest protests in American history.” Grantham said, “The second was as well. The statement, ‘No Kings’ means that we refuse to live in tyranny, and we refuse to live in a society in which the rule of law is not being upheld, and so by saying ‘No Kings’, we’re reminding everyone that we are indeed a democracy. We are not a dictatorship. And that’s a fundamental value of what it is to be an American.”
This year, participants are demanding no war, no more funding for ICE, and protection of the Constitution and the rule of law.
“This really is a community that cares, and also, because we’re the capital, we’re also a community that understands the value of government and of of good governance. Because since we’re the capital, we also experience the effects of bad governance pretty rapidly.” Said Grantham, “So much of what’s happening right now can feel very isolating, and there’s so much about what it is to be alive today which is isolating in general, but then to be living under this growing authoritarian regime…isolation is one of the tactics of authoritarianism. So by coming together, we show one another that we are not alone.”
Grantham also emphasized that the rally is only one part of a broader strategy.
Beginning next week, Juneau groups will host a weeklong series of workshops under the banner “How We Resist,” aimed at training community members in nonviolent resistance and democratic engagement. The Workshops will include information on general strike preparedness, noncooperation tactics like boycotts and sit-ins, and an ACLU Alaska immigration bystander training watch party and Q&A.
For those skeptical that their presence at a rally or workshop makes any difference, organizers argue civic participation is essential.
“We need to practice the muscle of democracy. By showing up, we are practicing what it means to be democratic citizens. That matters greatly.” Grantham said, “We have these rights, and we will have these rights as long as we practice them, as long as we use them. That’s what the scholars and the experts tell us, we have to use all the tools that we have available to us as long as we have them, because those tools become whittled away by authoritarianism, so when we show up together to put into practice, number one, our First Amendment rights and our ability to petition the government when we are dissatisfied with it, we are living our democracy.”
Protests, she says, strengthen organizational skills and help sustain networks that can respond to future crises.
If there is one message Grantham hopes people take away from the Juneau rally, it’s – “I hope people feel that by taking part in an event like this and by doing these other actions as well, that we are living our values, and we are going to be able to tell our grandchildren in confidence that we had an important role to play in preserving American democracy. Action is the antidote to despair. It’s really easy to feel overwhelmed and depressed right now, but for me, when I show up and I do things, those feelings go away.”
