"No Kings" Rally in Rome April 19th
1400+ People Join Our Utica, New Hartford, & Herkimer Hands Off! Rallies
Thank you for turning out in such huge numbers on Saturday for our April 5th "Hands Off!" Rallies in the Mohawk Valley! As you've probably heard, what was planned as a big tent, first of this administration, mass mobilziation event across the country, was even bigger than imagined. At most of the 1300+ rallies around the country, people came out at 5X to 8X the number officially registered for their local events. And here in the Mohawk Valley, In spite of very cold temperatures and heavy rain, we also saw higher numbers than expected--at all three of our sites.
Oneida Square Utica -600+ participants
Commercial Drive, New Hartford-600+ participants
Herkimer, Herkimer County-170+ participants
Way to go! For those registered on Mobilize, our post-event responses from you were 100% positive about your experience, and hundreds of you responded not just with "thumbs up" for the event, but with comments telling us about your reasons for attending and why you were happy you came in spite of the horrible weather. We got some press coverage including WKTV and a photo gallery in the Utica OD. The Daily Sentinel and the Utica Phoenix had good coverage too. We've also heard some people (most who weren't there, wonder what the point of having millions of Americans in the street protesting such a wide range of Trump admninistration actions--from threatening Social Security and Medicaid to firing federal workers, from crashing the stock market to destroying relationships with Canada and NATO--more--all to line his own pockets and those of a handful of billionaires like Elon Musk--when it's still happening before our eyes.
This messsage from Indivisible Co-founder Ezra Levin says well what we accomplished and why it is the first step for a growing movement:
"This was historic. Literally historic. This was the first mass public demonstration of this new Trump/Musk era with eye-popping, global strength. But numbers are just numbers. I think this piece by Tim Murphy in Mother Jones starts to get at some of the immediate meaning of the moment. Our goal was to bust through the myth that opposition was impossible or irrelevant. To show Democrats how much demand there is to fight. And to show Musk, MAGA, and Trump how vulnerable they are. We did it -- we sent a very clear message.
What message did we send? The breadth and depth of this day of action send not just one message, but three different messages to three different audiences:
Musk, Trump, and Republicans. A massive protest like this tells these malicious muppets and cowardly capitulators that they are weak and unpopular. Their coalition is not all-powerful. It is not secure. It is vulnerable to fracture, and we are going to fracture it. To the marginal member of the MAGA coalition: rethink your allegiances.
Elected Democrats. For too long, Democrats like Chuck Schumer have denied we’re in a crisis and have embraced the James Carville “roll over and play dead” strategy. Those days should be over. The people are demanding Democrats find their spines, stand up straight, and fight back. Smart Democratic electeds will read the room, adapt, and lead. Dumb ones will be left behind. We didn’t just tell them that -- we showed them that.
Everyone else. Fascists want normal people to feel alone. They want us all to feel at their mercy. But what Hands Off! demonstrated is that we are not mere victims of political events. Democracy is a participatory sport, and we are active participants. I’ve seen so many reports from people who said, “This was my first protest, and I’m ready for the next one.” We just placed the welcome mat out for millions of new members. Hell yeah!
Please take some time to feel good -- seriously. Head over to our social channels (Bluesky, Instagram) to scroll through the incredible photos -- or check out this quick video highlighting events in all 50 states. I hope everyone who is part of Indivisible feels a real sense of accomplishment here. I cannot overstate how incredibly central Indivisibles were to the success of this day. And you didn’t do it on your own. We worked alongside MoveOn members, and Working Family Party locals, 50501 chapters, and Planned Parenthood volunteers. We worked with faith leaders like Reverend Barber. We worked with our union brothers and sisters in the AFL-CIO, SEIU, AFT, NEA, AFGE, and National Nurses United. We pulled in friends, family members, and total strangers to put on the largest display of people power in years.
It’s important for us to recognize this accomplishment and celebrate it. We should not just take our wins in stride. Bask in the win. Admire it. Brag about it to each other. And brag about it to people who were not there but could be part of the next one. We pulled off something very real, very powerful, and very cool. And the more we internalize that, and the more we advertise it to the world, the more real, more powerful, and more cool our next action will be.
Closing out the DC rally with 100,000 peaceful and boisterous protestors holding funny signs and chanting righteous cheers, Leah and I told the crowd this is an inflection point. “Are we going to accept Democratic leaders who tell us to roll over and play dead?” NO!
How many kings? No kings!
How many kings? No kings!
How many kings? No kings!
When we win, people will talk about Hands Off! as the turning point in the fight against the American fascist movement. Courage is contagious, y’all. And we are going to win. -- Ezra Levin, Co-Executive Director, Indivisible
No Kings! Rally in Rome, NY April 19th
Speaking of "No Kings"... Please join us Saturday April 19th at 12 Noon for our "No Kings" Rally co-hosted by the Oneida County Democratic Women's Club, Rome Democratic Committee, and Indivisible Mohawk Valley!
We are gathering on the sidewalk at Fort Stanwix, 100 N. James St Rome NY 13440. This is the 250th Anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War (Lexington and Concord battles, April 19, 1775), and what better place than a fort that was pivotal in our victory over a tryannical ruler? Let's tell Trump that there are No Kings in our country. This country belongs to "We the People."
There is parking across the street from the Fort Stanwix entrance with access from Dominick St and Black River Blvd. Additional parking on N. James St. Bring your best signs (Rachel Maddow had an amazing segment about the coolest and most creative signs at April 5th rallies)
Please join your fellow patriots and raise your voices in unity. One goal of this event is to continue to build community and movement momentum in our Mohawk Valley region before the next widespread national mass mobilization. Participants are expected to committ to the principles of non-violent, peaceful demonstration. Register HERE to let us know you're coming. And share the invitation with friends.
Climate Crisis Working Group Actions for Climate
Make Calls for the NY HEAT Act to be Included in the Budget
If the NY State Budget is still not passed we need to make calls to put NY HEAT Act in the budget!
Call Speaker Heastie: (518-455-5454 or 325-732-1055) AND
Call Governor Hochul: (518-474-8390)
"Hello, I’m [name] and I live in [municipality]. I'm calling to ask Speaker Heastie/Governor Hochul to put the NY HEAT Act, A.4870A (Simon) in the budget. My utility bills keep going up and I don't want to keep paying more for gas pipes that we don't need. Can I count on the Speaker to support NY HEAT in the budget?"
Save May 7th: Two Actions We Can Take For Climate
1. Albany Lobby Day: Plastics Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Bill
2. Lt. Governor Delgado & Bill McKibben: Affordability of Energy (Crisis and Solution)
We New Yorkers are tired of being told what CAN’T be done to rapidly advance our transition to renewable energy generation. What is needed at this time is dynamic leadership showing us what CAN be done - and must be done - if there is the political will to do it.
Join us for a critical climate conversation from 7:00 - 7:30 pm. Register at link below:
Lt. Gov. Delgado & Bill McKibben in conversation (30-minute event) – Upstate New York
Blake Gendebien Town Hall
The Democratic Congressional candidate for NY-21, Blake Gendebien, will be holding a Town Hall in Rome two weeks from now on Thursday, 4/24, at 6:00pm.
Register HERE to let us know that you'll be there!
The Town Hall will be held at Copper City Community Connection Senior Center, located at 305 E Locust St, Rome, NY 13440.
This will be a great opportunity to hear from Blake, voice your concerns, and ask questions. Don't forget to invite your friends, family and neighbors - spread the word far and wide!
IMV Meeting Sunday, April 27th at MVCC in Utica
Please remember to register for our April 27th meeting at MVCC in Utica. We have a lot to debrief about the past few weeks, and more to plan, including how to respond to what's happening in Congress, what kind of training and community building we need to do with our new activists, and how to start building our local blue wave in the 2025 election cycle. Register HERE if you haven't already.
Letters to the Editor
We've had some excellent letters featured in local newspapers! April 9th was a particularly good day for our members/activists in the Daily Sentinel with letters by Kathy Wojciechowski about Trump's threat to libraries, Jennifer Boulanger's letter, "We Must Save Ourselves," and Deb Dejohn's "People Must Speak Up."
Kathy's letter was also published in the Utica Phoenix. Keep writing! Share your experiences of the April 5th Hands Off Rally in your local newspaper to keep the energy going. There are many people who are just now hearing about our anti-Trump, pro-democracy movement because people who have been to the protests tell their friends or co-workers, or write a letter to the editor.
Wrap Up and Inspiration
Fired up and ready to rally today? Join the Kirkland Democrats on the Clinton Village Green at 4 pm and bring your best signs about what terrible things Republicans in Congress and the White House have done this week. No shortage of topics--from the worst budget plan ever (scrap Medicaid and SNAP to give trillions to the billionaires!) to passing the mass voter disenfranchisement (The Silencing Americans Act).
Good news from yesterday was that Rep. John Mannion stood strong and voted against the horrible MAGA HR22 (Silencing Americans Act). (If you want to speak out against Elise Stefanik's terrible votes, turn it into a question and ask it at Blake Gendebien's Town Hall--and give him a chance to say how he would have voted very differently!)
Next up, the Republican plan is to enact trillions (ya, that’s with a T) of dollars in tax breaks for corporations and billionaires. And since letting rich guys like Trump and Musk dodge taxes means less to go around for the rest of us, Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs will get cut to pay for it all.
We encourage everyone who lives in NY21 (Stefanik's district) to call or email to remind her she works for you -- not Musk, Trump, or their oligarch buddies. And if you're really ambitious, plan a small rally near a rural hospital or medical facility or anywhere in her district. Use Indivisible's “Stop the Cuts” toolkit to plan an event for your community during April Recess.
No matter where you live, if you are trying to figure out what calls you should be making and how to think about what's happening in Washington, we recommend these helpful explainers and action tools from Indivisible. Our forebearers did not win a revolutionary war against a tyrannical king by saying they were hopelessly under the thumb of a cruel and insane despot. They didn't give up and neither can we. TIme to roll up our sleeves and make some good trouble together.
Remember that we are in a long fight for the health and safety of all Americans, for the stability of the global economy and for the economic well being of our own families, and for the preservation of the first amendment and civil rights that we have taken for granted for decades, and even generations. We are not going to see many victories right away, but the only way we have a chance of any victory, even in the long run, is if we start fighting now, and don't stop.
"If we want democracy to flourish, we will have to fight for it. We'll have to nurture it. And we will have to demonstrate its value, again and again." -Barack Obama
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
"No one let go of anyone's hand."
Breathe, then PUSH.
Follow us on Bluesky: @Indivisiblemv.bsky.social, on Instagram's Threads.net/@indivisiblemohawkvalley, on X (Twitter) using @indivisiblemv and of course on our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.
