HARDWICK – Organizations around the country and in the local area are making plans for events on what is being called No Kings Day, a nationwide day of defiance, this Saturday, June 14. They will occur on the nation’s Flag Day. Though not a federal holiday, Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.
source: nokings.org
While noting June 14 as Flag Day, President Trump announced a military parade for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. military and said, “we’re going to be celebrating our army and our military,” in a YouTube video inviting the nation to the event.
Several events are planned in Hardwick. In a May letter to the editor, Bob Hawk invited area neighbors to an event at 11 a.m., Saturday, June 14, at 101 S. Main St. (Front Seat Coffee) “to protest the illegal suspension of due process, the destruction of our social safety net to provide a tax cut for the billionaires, and the Congressional Republicans who have abandoned their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution in order to avoid the wrath of their king [sic] Trump.”
More recently, a No Kings Day Rally has been announced for 11:30 a.m. on June 14. It will begin at the Peace Park, 42 N. Main St., next door to the Civic Standard. Carlotta Hayes, an organizer of the event, sponsored by Indivisible Hardwick, said it’s being coordinated with Hawk’s longtime grassroots group.
A short rally at the Peace Park will begin with a recognition of Flag Day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a short speech by State Representative Leanne Harple and some rousing songs led by Grace Hurley, said Hayes. The event coincides with the end of the Hazen Union School graduation, and those gathered will celebrate seniors and their families as they drive or walk past, she said.
That group will then march with signs to join others at Front Seat Coffee and raise awareness with passersby until about 1:30 p.m.
Hayes said rally-goers expect to send an important message “declaring that authoritarianism, fascism and kings have no place in America.” She asks that people join to “Rise up for support of a government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’, not one highjacked by billionaires, technocrats and racist nationalists.”
Long-time Hardwick activist Mary Gagnon was careful to say she spoke for no one but herself, when she expressed support for the June 14 events, saying, “I believe the idea for ‘No Kings Day’ sprang from the hearts and minds of compassionate, thinking people across the country who are frustrated and angry to hear about the current administration’s decision to spend an outrageous amount of money on a totally unnecessary military parade . . . on June 14th, America’s Flag Day.
“We, The People, are finally coming together and deciding to stop being divided,” she said. We are “Committing ourselves to saving our 250 year-old federated representative democracy from the tyranny of oligarchs, much as our founding fathers did, we declare ‘No Kings’ for ALL to hear!”
Hayes said, “This National Day of Defiance is sponsored by the national groups, Indivisible Action and Women’s March, as well as the newly formed Indivisible Hardwick.” For more information contact: [email protected]
No Kings events similar to those in Hardwick are being scheduled for towns around Vermont, with the largest likely to be at Waterfront Park in Burlington and the Statehouse in Montpelier.
NEK Indivisible has scheduled a No Kings event for Barton from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 14 at the Barton Village Square. Anne Hanson, who lives in Craftsbury, plans to attend the Barton event because she’s been involved with NEK Indivisible and thinks there’s a lot of positive energy in Barton now.
Hanson went to Newport earlier this month where she was inspired to hear U.S. Rep. Becca Balint speak of putting Vermonters first, over political parties. She commented that Balint embodies what leadership is about, making note of a comment she heard Balint make in saying, “Courage is contagious.”
Hanson pointed to research she’s learned about that indicates resistance from 3.5% of a nation’s population has historically changed the course of events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Though she noted, that’s not been true in all cases where 3.5% of a nation’s population has made a difference, she intends to add her voice in a non-violent, peaceful way to undermine the lying she hears coming from the federal administration.
We’re seeing the rise of a political figure who’s acting more like a king than a president,” said Hanson. The military parade to celebrate his own birthday and the cost involved, “looks more like what we’d see in an autocracy in Russia or North Korea.”
For almost 250 years we’ve lived under a democracy that rejects a king, said Hanson, who is concerned about the cuts proposed in the Big Beautiful Bill being considered in Congress “in an economy that hasn’t delivered equally in more than a generation.” She made a point to say, ‘We don’t do kings here.”
A No Kings rally in Burlington, organized by 50501 Vermont, from noon to 4 p.m., will feature five marches converging at the city’s Waterfront Park. The event’s featured speakers will include Vermont U.S. Representative Becca Balint, activist and recent Columbia University graduate Mohsen Mahdawi, Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak, and cartoonist and author Alison Bechdel. The No Kings Day events are being planned in cities and towns throughout the country, except Washington D.C. “We want to create contrast, not conflict,” said Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, one of the partner groups. “The choice to hold No Kings events in every city but D.C. is a deliberate choice to keep the focus on contrast, and not give the Trump administration an opportunity to stoke and then put the focus on conflict.”
In Montpelier, a No Kings rally is scheduled at the statehouse for 10 to 11 a.m.
Flag Day, June 14, is Donald Trump’s birthday. “The U.S. Army said on June 4, it has no plans to recognize President Donald Trump’s birthday on June 14 when he presides over part of the Army’s celebrations of its 250th anniversary,” reported Reuters. And official White House information about the June 14 event does not make note of the President’s birthday either.
Notes at all the No Kings events scheduled at the mobiize.us website indicate, “A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.”
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
