Like many of you, on April 5th I made a sign and braved the cold to stand on a street corner and resist the current presidential administration. I was inspired by the large crowds of enthusiastic activists lining a complete city block and all 4 corners of an intersection to proclaim that fascism and hate should be  unacceptable in 2025.

Here are a few observations from my protest experience:

       These were huge crowds that I saw at my protest. While thousands were protesting in New York, DC, Boston, Chicago, and more, the scale of the protest I attended in a small, purple town was incredible. According to organizers, over 3,000 attendees turned out to pack the streets with messages of democracy and tolerance.    You could see the scale as soon as you arrived. 

       As we were parking, dozens of protesters streamed out of the Target parking lot with homemade signs. We drove around the block a few times before we found an open parking spot. The parking lot was not clogged by mall shoppers, but thousands of liberal activists.  

       Once we got to the actual protest, we saw an entire sidewalk, curb, and grassy area filled with people. It was a challenge to get to the road and become visible to passing traffic because of the protest’s size. And that was only our side of the street. Protestors stretched down the opposite side of the street, and all 4 corners of the intersection. 

       My ears are still recovering from the noise! Car honking, impassioned yelling, and cheers throughout contributed to the grassroots vibe. 

       The age demographic was about what I expected. I was one of the youngest people there. Overall, the crowd trended on the older side, with most attendees likely being in their 60s. As much as I admired all the older members of the community getting out and supporting what is right, I was ashamed that other young people were not there. 

       The issues Trump is focused on specifically target young people in this country. Whether it be shutting down the Department of Education, pulling us out of the Paris Climate Accords, or attacking Trans youth, the younger you are, the more likely you are to be impacted by MAGA policies. It is completely unacceptable in my eyes that there were not more students and young people there. 

       However, I will make mention to the student organizers that inspired me. I saw quite a few young children attending with their parents; absolutely inspirational! I spoke with the leaders of our local Young Democrats chapter who expressed that they were looking for more members and to grow their organization. I also spoke with a young intern who shared that she didn’t quite know how to get involved, but was happy to be here nonetheless. 

      Overall, I was really impressed with the community organizers and local party leaders for staging such a large event. However, the work doesn’t end here.  It’s a wake-up call, honestly. We can’t just show up for a day and think we’ve done enough. We fight this fight every single day, and find new ways to show the power of the people. The future of this country isn’t guaranteed to be democratic. It’s up to us to make sure we don’t let it turn into something we can’t fix. We can’t stop here. The stakes are too high, and we owe it to ourselves, and everyone coming after us, to keep pushing forward.