Dana R Fisher

On June 14th, while Donald Trump held a military parade in our nation’s Capitol, millions of people across the US mobilized to protest the actions of the Trump Administration and its policies during the No Kings Day-of-Action.

My team surveyed participants at the flagship event in Philadelphia and hosts organizing events across the US. Here’s a map of the events across the US (left) and the hosts who participated in the study (right), which represent over 10% of all hosts for the events:

Top motivations for participation for hosts of NoKings events (over 70%) was:  Trump and Immigration. For participants at the flagship event in Philadelphia, it was:  Immigration, Trump, Politics/Voting, Racial Justice, Income and Wealth Inequality, and LGBTQ+ issues.

Consistent with the Resistance to the Trump Administration during its first term, the majority of hosts and participants were female, predominantly white, and highly educated: 88% of participants in the flagship event in Philadelphia and 93% of hosts were White, and 89% of participants in Philadelphia and 84% of host reported having a university degree (BA) or higher. Participation was younger than recent protests: the median age of participants in Philly was 36 years-old; and for hosts across the US, it was 67 years-old.

Support for political violence continues to go up as violence against peaceful protesters and elected officials becomes more common: 40% of participants at the event in Philadelphia reported that they believe political violence may be necessary to save our country.

I’m frequently asked: what’s the point of peaceful protests like the No Kings Day-of-Action? It’s a chance to show civic strength and consolidate people power. They create collective identity and build capacity for social change. Done right, they can expand participation and mobilize support for longer term efforts.

One of the key questions to ask now is: what comes next?