'No Kings 2.0' Will Likely Draw Thousands to Berkshire County
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Rallies are planned across the nation on Oct. 18 to protest actions by the Trump administration.
In Pittsfield, the No Kings 2.0 rally will be held at The Common from 2:30 to 5 p.m. and in North Adams City Hall from noon to 2. There will also be No Kings rallies on the same day in Dalton, Stockbridge, West Stockbridge, Lee, and Adams, and around the nation.
The Parks Commission recently gave local organizer Robin O'Herin, of StandUp Berkshires! approval for the event at The Common. She explained that organizers are "totally committed to peaceful, joyful protest, and we won't tolerate anything else."
"The last one that we did, we had at least 5,000 people, and The Common is the only place big enough," she explained.
The event will include speakers, chants, and musical performances. O'Herin reported that U.S. Sen. Ed Markey's team said they would check his schedule to see if he can attend the event.
There will also be a food drive and informational tables.
"We want to reach people and create unity as opposed to divisiveness," O'Herin explained.
"I mean, yeah, the theme is 'No Kings,' but at the same time, we want to have some messaging that actually unites people. That's my goal for the rally."
She said there will be safety marshals at the event, and it was recommended that a couple of portable toilets be rented.
"My goals are to empower people and energize them to take action, whatever that means, if it's just calling your representatives, writing letters, signing petitions, or coming to rallies or standing out," O'Herin said.
She cited the "3.5 percent rule," a principle of nonviolent political resistance that suggests no government can withstand a nonviolent challenge involving 3.5 percent of its population.
"It just depends on how upset people are with the government at that moment in time," she said.
The No Kings movement is protesting cuts to Medicaid and food assistance, health insurance costs, actions against higher education, science and health research, and the use of masked federal agents to conduct violent raids and deportations.
- Adams: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Town Common
- Bennington, Vt.: 10:30 to noon, Vermont State Office Building
- Dalton: 1 to 2 p.m., Dalton CRA sidewalk
- Lee: 9 to 11 a.m. at the library
- North Adams: noon to 2, City Hall
- Pittsfield: 2:30 to 5 p.m., the Common
- Stockbridge: 10 to 11:30 a.m., town offices
- West Stockbridge: noon to 1:30, Village Congregational Church
Tags: protests,
