A week ago, an equal hatred for our current administration had hundreds of Miamians out on the streets of downtown. A scheduled time-in/ time-out organized protest with nationwide events all to say “Trump is not a king”. Our only agreement was dissent from this current government. The protest was part of the “50501 movement” created by Indivisible, an NGO established in 2016 to oppose the Donald Trump administration. The main mission of this Democratic-party NGO is to resist the GOP’s agenda, elect local candidates, and “fight for progressive policies”. Aside from the discontent with this presidency, there’s no mention of capitalism and imperialism being the root cause of the problems our society faces today. Nor how the current administration is pushing towards a fascist state. The “50501 movement,” run by Indivisible, believes in the alternative that the democratic party is selling. They think that the answer to all of these problems lies within the administrative state and electoral politics. But the democrats are just as complicit as the Trump administration in their support of continued violence overseas and profiting off of our higher cost of living. Those who came to protest did not have the collective understanding that capitalism and imperialism are the systems at fault. When we tried chanting “Hey Hey Ho Ho Fascism’s gotta go,” we were quickly shut down as we were crossing the streets. Indivisible and ACLU organizers shouted over us with megaphones to ensure no one stepped out early over the line. As a matter of fact, last Saturday’s protest in Miami had almost no chants. On either side of the streets on Biscayne, people stood with signs, shouted at the traffic as they honked back (mostly in solidarity), but there was very little space for real conversations among us.
A variety of scientists, teachers, immigrants, young, old, democrats, anarchists, communists, pro-Palestine, and trans-right activists made loops from the Torch of Friendship to the Freedom Tower. The loop has become Miami’s free speech path, since this zone is a space protected as a “free speech zone” where large crowds can gather without permits. Cops in cars surrounded this zone, cops on motorbikes and bicycles also contained us; organizers at corners on their megaphones ensured them we would not step out of our free speech path. To only have one path for free speech is a mockery. In Miami, we have fewer and fewer of these spaces where people can gather as a community, resist, and build unity. When we say unity, we mean a shared understanding, through theory and practice, that builds connections and relationships outside of the traditional structures that dominate us. Building unity together is the only way that we can bring about a more progressive future.
Among the crowd were some voices denouncing the Democratic party and its allies, progressive voices who recognized that both democrats and republicans are two sides of the same coin; both at fault for the creation/ operations of ICE, the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, the exploitation of the working class globally, and the growth of fascism. Some of the other organizations and protesters we talked to recognized that the democrats are not the progressive alternative. Two women with their megaphone stood out denouncing the democrats’ involvement in the Gaza genocide. They talked about the violence perpetrated against the indigenous peoples of this country, despite the crowd’s seeming uninterested, and even offered us a chance to speak. They were one of the great handfuls of talks we had that day. While it may feel nice to be heard by many, it is more important to have a conversation that struggles for unity. Building a legitimate progressive movement requires a larger amount of unity that cannot be built at one protest.
To the hundreds in attendance and even to those who couldn’t make it… Your discontent shouldn’t end at a protest. The moment we face, where our bills compete with our wages, housing is unaffordable, and our families, friends, and neighbors are living in fear, is all part of the capitalist system of domination. These are the same problems that we have been facing since the beginning of our country. It is clear that neither political party operates in the interests of the people, but instead for the wealthy, who decide what cultural issue we should divide ourselves on next. These systems, the imperialist political machine and the profit-over-all-else, planet destroying motives of capitalism want us closed off, silent, and obedient. The NGOs want to co-opt you and use you as a foot soldier, in this circumstance, for the benefit of the Democratic Party. But what they want done might not always be what your community needs.
We must get organized, we must speak with our neighbors, coworkers, friends, and build networks of resistance. Imagine if this protest brought together organizations of workers who are seeing their colleagues deported, neighbors who are fighting ICE and the loss of public housing, teachers worried about their students’ safety while fighting censorship and privatization. Groups of people who organize independently of the state, from political parties and moneyed interests, can work together to build unity around the fact that all struggle is class struggle. They would inevitably see that what unites us is the fight against capitalism and imperialism. Then the call wouldn’t be “No Kings,” it would be: “NO DOMINATION, NO EXPLOITATION, NOTHING BUT WHAT SERVES THE PEOPLE!”
This is the flyer One Struggle shared at the No Kings Protest. Let us know if any of this resonates with you or what your experience was if you attended the protest. Reach out to us if you’re looking for more perspective or if you’d like to get organized.
