Hundreds of protesters rallied Saturday in Providence and towns across Rhode Island as part of a nationwide “day of action” against the Trump administration.
In Providence, they marched at noon from the Rhode Island State House lawn through downtown, chanting “government by the people” and “no kings.”
The protest was organized by members of the 50501 movement, a grassroots nonpartisan campaign that describes itself as a “decentralized rapid response to the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies.”
One of the Rhode Island organizers, Lauren DelSignore, said the protest on Saturday took some people by surprise because they did not collaborate with Rhode Island Democrats or Republicans, and featured many speakers not affiliated with local organizations.
That’s in contrast to an April 5 protest that was organized by a mix of local labor, environmental and political groups and featured speakers such as Pat Crowley from the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, as well as Representative Seth Magaziner, who was scheduled to speak although he ultimately did not.
DelSignore argued the 50501 movement has broader appeal because of its message that power should be in the hands of the people, not billionaires or politicians who accept donations from them.
“The politicians that are involved in this, they’re getting money from these big PACs. They’re getting money from big organizations,” said DelSignore. “They’re getting rich off of the backs of the American people while they stuff a boot in our face and we get shoved into the mud. They’re getting richer, and we’re not. We want a system change.”
Amid the crowd of approximately 1,500 protesters was Dave Beyna, who was wearing a George Washington costume. He said he was inspired by Washington’s stance against having a king.
“We need term limits,” he said. Beyna was one of at least three George Washingtons at Saturday’s protest.
Protester Jann Campbell also harkened back to revolutionary days with her sign, which read “My family burnt the Gaspee.” She said her ancestors had a role in burning down a British schooner off of Warwick in Narragansett Bay in 1773, an action called the Gaspee Affair, which some historians say was an important event in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War.
“Every generation is asked to step forward, and we are really in a place where they’re ready to take away every hard-won thing that America has,” Campbell said. “Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all the environmental protections from the 70s, the national parks, food stamps, Head Start, USAID. I mean, it would take me all day to name them.”
She said she has a difficult time walking and breathing, but that it felt important for her to turn out to this rally because seniors are “terrified.”
Despite the nonpartisan approach of 50501 organizers, several local progressive organizations signed on to help bring the protest to life as well. Gabriel Torres with the Deportation Defense Coalition said more progressive leftist organizations such as the Olneyville Neighborhood Association, The Party For Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and the Alliance to Mobilize our Resistance (AMOR).
“Of course, we’re gonna have different people of all ideologies, of all political backgrounds, right? And clearly, we all agree that billionaires shouldn’t be in power,” he said. “We agree that deportation shouldn’t be happening to our loved ones. And so when that type of messaging gets out, you’re going to have a wider, diverse, or more diverse crowd.”
Protesters also turned out in other parts of the state, including a large crowd in Wakefield, and as many as 300 in downtown Westerly. Torres said it’s a “natural response” that this movement is drawing so many people.
“People are upset. I think people are pretty aggravated,” he said.
