Weekly Beat 11: The Power of Protesting
- Judy Stahl
- Apr 18
- 2 min read
A Note From the Founder: Photos From the April 5th Hands Off Protests
Hands Off March. Prescott, AZ. April 5, 2025
Do not be afraid. This is what Democracy looks like. -Judy
Main Story: The power of protesting
On April 5th, 150 organizations arranged more than 1300 rallies across the United States in what has now become the largest resistance action against the Trump & Musk administration thus far. The unifying call at these protests was “hands off” in protest to the many cuts to critical services people rely on.
Our team at Voice for Values was in attendance at one rally held in our hometown of Prescott, AZ, where hundreds of people crowded into the square to reject cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, the Nation Forest Services, The VA and more.
With another protest underway on the 19th, we felt it was important to discuss the power resistance action has in our political environment. Protest has always held a protected and sacred place in American Politics. Indeed many of our most necessary steps toward progress have been made on the backs of protesters like those who showed up on the 5th.
Where would the Civil Rights movement have been without the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom of 1963 or the even earlier Montgomery Bus Boycotts in 1955?
Where would women’s rights be without the Women’s Suffrage Parade in 1913, or the Women’s Strike for Equality in 1970?
And indeed where would gay rights be without the Stonewall Uprising in 1969?
Exercising our constitutionally guaranteed right to assemble and to speak out against government injustice will forever remain a crucial tool in political change. The more frequently and relentlessly we turn out to protest Trump and Musk's illegal decimation of the federal government, the more our elected leaders in Congress are empowered (or pressured) to stand up and put a stop to DOGE.
Take Action: Keep Showing Up
Our call to action this week is very simple: keep showing up. The nationwide protesters of the Hands off rallies already have another action in the works for April 19th. The April 5th rallies were the largest action against the second Trump administration so far. Let’s make the next one even bigger.
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