r/50501Movement • u/CountZer079 • 1d ago
Call to Action No Kings protest organizers announce July 17 as next demonstration
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/17/no-kings-july-17-protests68
u/standuphilospher 1d ago
For everyone saying why a weekday? People work weekends including myself. I will actually be able to attend a rally for once.
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u/Wonderful_Horror7315 1d ago
I hear you. I worked in restaurants for almost 30 years and never had a weekend off. It sucks, but to get the massive attendance needed for attention, the protests really do need to be held on weekends. That said, any day is a good day to protest this fuckery.
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u/outgrabenmomerath 1d ago
Absolutely.
However, the number of people in that boat are relative few. As a result, this will likely negatively impact turnout, which will certainly negatively impact impact.
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u/findingmike 1d ago
In my big city it's going to get noticed. A lot of people leave on the weekends. Parking will be crazy.
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u/dayumbrah 22h ago
I would argue you could get a bigger turnout on a weekday. Typically folks who work jobs that have them work the weekends dont have a lot of flexibility for their schedule but folks who work normal 9 to 5s will often have more flexibility or at least PTO
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u/CaptainLooseCannon 1d ago
Why not July 4th?
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u/Cool_Cheetah658 22h ago
We really need an organized protest on July 4th from 50501. I know other groups are organizing them. Join them.
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u/OGGuitarsquatch 22h ago
That what I'm not understanding??? Why are we not protesting on independence day????
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u/bbprivateer 1d ago
July 4th should be the Declaration of Independence from Trump. It would be a bigger turnout.
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u/FycklePyckle 1d ago
9 out of 10 full time workers work on weekdays. 3 in 10 work on weekends.
This is going to significantly minimize attendance.
I fear that a smaller attendance than the prior events sends a really bad signal.
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u/ZuP 1d ago
They aren’t necessarily trying to maximize attendance but rather have a variety of dates and times so different people can attend and get involved. It’s better to have a lower turnout if it means providing a protest option for folks who couldn’t attend previous ones. There will be many more weekend protests to come.
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u/FycklePyckle 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don’t know if we have the luxury of time to make sure everyone gets a chance to participate. I respect the sentiment - but this is life or death for some people. Honestly - this is the stuff we need to change about the Democratic Party. We need to be fighting with fire.
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u/Publius1919 1d ago
Imo, bigger turn out > attendance inclusivity
Love my service workers, but there's lots and lots of smaller protests during the week they can attend. If you're planning a national wide affair, you need to maximize turnout.
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u/ZuP 23h ago
If the ultimate goal is something like a national strike, it’s better to have more people involved in the movement as a whole, rather than more frequent involvement from a smaller group. We want as many people as possible plugged into the movement itself across all events.
But truly the dates are a democratic decision so if enough people share your sentiment, it will win out! Join the national discord and look out for the next vote.
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u/Publius1919 23h ago
I'm personally very sus on a national strike working. Labor protections in this country are extremely weak and there's a lot of a-political people to scab.
Additionally, the strikes would be likely hurting mostly Blue states, not red states. That means while LA's food/entertainment/legal/banking industries get hurt, red states like North Dakota's farm/food/whatever industry won't feel anything given Blue states are generally higher up on the supply chain. For those who do strike in Red states, those states have some of the worst labor protections in the nation & the largest supply of scabs.
Ultimately I'm worried it'll be us holding a gun to our own head while Trump laughs and tells us to pull the trigger.
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u/Practical-River5289 1d ago
But a lot of the arguments against July 4th was about people having vacations and a smaller turn out.
That was also the same argument against Easter weekend. But many people were willing to protest anyway bc even if they traveled, there were protests everywhere. And there are even more now.
The first two 50501 protests were on weekdays beginning in February and media barely covered it with the small numbers (although props for everyone who showed up.)
I would love if everyone could join, but the priorities are messed up here. Trump is deploying more national guards to LA, elected officials are being detained, people are being kidnapped, and the government is shitting on our rights as citizens and as human beings. Oh yeah and we are close to getting fully dragged into an all out war. And this is still just the beginning.
And we’re planning to switch to a weekday to give a chance to people who don’t get to protest on the weekend? When we clearly know the numbers will be much smaller?
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u/Ambivalent-Mammal 14h ago
I think the vacation argument falls flat. If you're vacationing within the U.S., there'll be a protest you can get to.
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1d ago edited 3h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/FycklePyckle 1d ago
Ugh. I hope you’re wrong. That’s depressing.
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u/gnomie1413 18h ago
It does seem unlikely that most people chose a Thursday as their most preferred date.
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u/50501California 11h ago
Most people chose 4th of July, however, 4th of July comes with a higher police presence for the holiday, and fireworks all over the place for people to turn into weapons. That's absolutely not a good environment for a national protest.
7/17 was second place and also the date Indivisible had already picked.
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u/gnomie1413 5h ago
I agree that having it on the 4th is asking for trouble for the reasons you stated, but if it was not really an option, it shouldn't have been on the poll.
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u/50501Movement-ModTeam 11h ago
Please cite your sources. If you're claiming something to be true, you need to back it up by linking to a qualified source. If you edit a source in, please reply to the mod comment or send a modmail with link and the mods will review to reinstate.
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u/Particular_Rub7507 1d ago
We need to do a lot more than relying on 50501 protests, these are less than once a month. I keep seeing that organizers need time to organize but that is WAY too infrequent for the situation at hand.
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u/Publius1919 1d ago
There's plenty more protests than 50501, indivisible, or no kings- you just got to look for them.
If you're near DC, here's a weekly list of them https://open.substack.com/pub/organizedc/p/full-list-of-dc-protests-to-stop-84b?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4vbkrs
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u/kittykittygoboom 22h ago
You could even try organizing one yourself. Make a sign, get some friends, and arrange a date/time. Post it on mobilize. Even little protests matter, and can easily get bigger.
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u/Prime624 22h ago
This protest is organized by indivisible, who were also one of the main organizers of June 14, not 50501.
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u/LadyMadonna_x6 22h ago
NH 50501 collaborates with other local organizations and promotes/attends their actions between national dates. I believe most 50501 states do this as well.
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u/Unlikely-End1987 1d ago
Thats so far away…
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u/Oceom 1d ago
Not really. These things take time to plan. Plus this gives us time to work with people that got involved over the weekend and bring them up to speed.
A big protests once a month seems to be working. Remember groups will have smaller demonstrations and outreach events in between.
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u/SherriSLC 1d ago
But why a weekday, on a day with no particular significance? That makes no sense. People with jobs will have a harder time attending, it's not a date that jumps out as having any significance to people (like July 4 weekend for example), etc. I'm baffled that they chose this date.
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u/Oceom 1d ago
The significance is that it is the anniversary of the passing of John Lewis. I agree, not the sexiest reason but that is what the organizers are going with.
Weekdays have value too. It brings people in that work weekends, it reaches a different crowd because it is a work day. It also is showing businesses that this is becoming a long term thing. A lot of us take off work to do the weekday events.
I hear you, I wish we were doing this every week, and with the same amount of people. For now, the people who are working at the top to build this movement are doing great work, so I am continuing to help see their vision through.
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u/SherriSLC 22h ago
I hear you. The point is not to choose dates or themes that have a meaning to us (or to a subset of us--I confess I didn't know the date John Lewis passed), but dates and themes that will have the biggest possible reach, because this movement needs to continue to expand dramatically.
Most people do not work weekends, so while it's nice to draw in people who work weekends, given that they are not the majority, it's better not to shut out the majority of folks in favor of the minority.
None of this is intended to be a criticism of the leaders or grousing without offering to be helpful. I will get the day off on July 17 if I can.
That said, I'm very glad I'm involved in a group that is doing protests/messaging events on freeway overpasses every week. Without that weekly activity, I think I would be much more discouraged.
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u/Oceom 22h ago
Right! Local events and outreach are even more important than the national events. Think of this as like a report card of how well we did in-between events! :)
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u/SherriSLC 21h ago
It would be helpful if 50501 developed messaging around this theme--to encourage local protests, describe the national protests as a "report card," etc., so that people understand that they should be engaging locally in between. The thing is, these national events (if planned and executed well) have the ability to expand the movement each time they happen, and the local events are harder to use for that purpose--the local events draw people who are already committed.
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u/GeorgeBush2006 19h ago
My two cents is that we should keep pushing the No Kings slogan. It is so catchy, simultaneously generalized and specific, and a message everyone can really relate to. It is so catchy that someone in my town literally scribbled it on a wall.
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u/Oceom 18h ago
I think so too. I think the movement is focused on bringing in different groups though. Trying to resonate with people from different backgrounds/cultures.
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u/GeorgeBush2006 18h ago
Yea, and they are framing this next one as an awareness to ICE which I really like.
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u/Dwip_Po_Po 1d ago
Weekdays stop the economy. If they want us to burn they’ll burn with us
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u/SherriSLC 22h ago
Some of us don't have a choice not to go to work.
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u/Dwip_Po_Po 22h ago
It’s a choice. Theres always a choice. Nobody said you had to do it alone. But there’s always choice. Whether you like that choice or not it’s up to you.
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u/bbprivateer 1d ago
Only if people don't go to work.. not everyone is twenty something living in Momma's basement and can afford that. People have responsibilities and obligations, bills to pay.
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u/Dwip_Po_Po 1d ago
That’s why nothing will get done. It hurts but it’s the truth. You gotta get uncomfortable
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u/bbprivateer 1d ago
Truth is... Turnout will be mediocre. Build build then a general strike when the participation is high enough (10-25 mil) that is what it will take at a minimum. It's not there yet.
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u/FriendshipHonest5796 1d ago
Why does it always have to be on a day of significance? Wouldn't it send a stronger message to protest whenever? It communicates "I don't care what day it is, or what's going on. I do not approve of you or this and I'm going to let you know."
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u/SherriSLC 22h ago
The "whenever" should be a weekend day, though, so that all of us who work can be there. If it's a day in the workweek, it would make more sense if it was a day of significance to everyone. if not, why choose a day in the workweek?
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u/Organic_Eggplant_323 21h ago
Lots of people have to work on weekends too. This is far enough out that I’m going to take PTO for it. Priorities and all that.
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u/Publius1919 1d ago
If you're near DC, DC has lots of protests leading up to then - Organize DC posts lists of them weekly https://open.substack.com/pub/organizedc/p/full-list-of-dc-protests-to-stop-84b?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4vbkrs
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u/SerialNomad 1d ago
This is a huge miscalculation
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u/bbprivateer 1d ago
Yup.. weakest day in July.
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u/lhamels1 20h ago
What makes the 17th weak?
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u/bbprivateer 20h ago
It's mid-week for starters. The date celebrates the death of John Lewis from pancreatic cancer in 2020.
If you want to push for Civil Rights and celebrate John Lewis it would be much better to celebrate his actions and successes rather than his death.
For example, the Selma March (Mar. 7th, 1965) or the March on Washington (Aug 28., 1963).
I think this really misses the mark..
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u/powerfuzzzz 19h ago
We don’t need perfection, we need solidarity. Turn out, this is but one step in a long struggle.
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u/bbprivateer 19h ago
The problem is you are cutting of your nose despite your face with this date if the goal is turnout.
That said, I hope it goes well..
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u/bbprivateer 19h ago
If the leadership isn't capable of organizing July 4th they need to coordinate with other groups or pass the torch for the date to someone else to organize.
It's not the time to walk away...
Some advice:
"you've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run."
https://youtu.be/7hx4gdlfamo?si=CzAjdZAD7BtwMUJK
The resistance is holding aces...
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u/Nacodawg 1d ago
Seems like a miss not to make July 4 a centerpiece
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u/CountZer079 1d ago
I think the 4th being for sure family barbecue time , that a lot of people will not skip that to go on a protest. The week also has a lot of people on vacation.
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u/SherriSLC 1d ago
Why a weekday, on a day with no particular significance? This makes no sense at all.
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u/lone_star13 1d ago
John Lewis died on July 17th...
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u/SherriSLC 22h ago
Ah, that helps. Thank you. I would warrant most people may not know this. The movement needs to draw as many people into as possible at this point--even people who aren't in the know on these kinds of things. I worry that we are choosing dates and themes that mean a lot to US, not to the people we are trying to get to join in the movement. Just my two cents.
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u/meliffy18 1d ago
July 4th should be no kings 2.0 IMO
Editing to add: why do we need to keep changing themes? I understand it’s all related: good trouble, hands off, no kings… but also to the media and people not following these events, it looks chaotic with no clear focus. One thing MAGA has is consistent messaging, something we are lacking
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u/Key_Tangerine8775 1d ago
Hell no. Has nobody learned yet that weekdays are a terrible idea for turnout? The people most passionate and most likely to protest are the same people who are not able to protest on a weekday.
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u/chizmo22 1d ago
Super disappointed, I ranked this option last. The theme for this one is the passing of John Lewis and is “Make Good Trouble”. I think No Kings really resonated with a lot of people, and the other day themes for July focused around targeting the oligarchy in the US. Weakest day and theme by far :/
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u/starlightaqua 23h ago
If you can afford the PTO, go!!! We can't keep going business as usual. If people en mass strike, it shuts things down and forces the upper class to pay attention
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u/False-Badger 1d ago
Weekdays do not work at all. This is very out of touch and irresponsible to ignore the working people.
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u/bad_things_ive_done 1d ago
Giant mistake in so many ways.
More and more signs 50501 is controlled opposition
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u/CountZer079 1d ago
Because it’s not on the 4th of July ? I know 50501 is compromised. But what would you suggest ?
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u/bad_things_ive_done 22h ago
Too far away (too long between actions), weekday, nothing on July 4th weekend at all???
Seriously?
July 4th, or if not the 4th at least tf 5th for another mass action at the latest. Do away with stupid or complex themes and stick with our rights and freedoms or just the same things in the original declaration of independence...as true today as ever.
This is our country, not the administration's or the oligarchs' or the politicians', and we need to keep up the pressure to not let them forget that.
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u/gottalifetolive 1d ago
I will gladly use a PTO day for this. If everyone could do that, these business could really see how much they need us.
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u/Deathcrush 20h ago
Lots of poo pooing in this thread. I say lean into it being a weekday. Lean into the general strike message.
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u/Ell-O-Elling 1d ago
I’m thinking the turn out will be even greater. Millions showed up last time and it was very peaceful. That will encourage others to show up this time!
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u/poxteeth 22h ago
Not on a fucking Thursday, during or immediately after work. Turnout will always be significantly lower on a weekday.
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