No Kings 2 protest draws thousands to streets of Eugene

Presenter: Thousands of local residents took to the streets in Eugene Oct. 18 as part of the nationwide No Kings protests, and KEPW was there. Here are four calls to action from Saturday’s protest, organized by the Activist Coalition of Eugene Springfield, and introduced by Debbie Williamson Smith:

Debbie Williamson Smith: I know it’s a little crazy at times hearing, so I also want to let you know that KEPW 97.3 is livestreaming the rally from now until 11 a.m. So you can tune in to the radio. Thank you, KEPW.

My name is Debbie, and as always I want to acknowledge that we gather on Kalapuya ilihi, the indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people. I know those are just words, but I try to back them up every day with action. I hope you do the same. We need to remember that no one is illegal on stolen land. Welcome to the resistance! Thank you for showing up for America, for democracy, for each other.

[00:01:25] I am here today as a private citizen and I want to make it clear: No one is paying me to be here. So I want to start with kind of a serious question. Is anyone out there scared?

[00:01:45] I’m here because I’m scared. I’m scared for my family and I’m scared for my friends. I’m scared for people I love. And I’m scared for people I don’t know, because despite what we hear from the White House, empathy is not a made-up New Age term.

[00:02:07] But do you know what the antidote is to fear? Courage is great. Action. And love, oh my gosh, shout it out! (Love!)

[00:02:20] Today, you’re going to learn about several actions you can take immediately that will help our neighbors, that will help our world. We are here today to save democracy, and we can do it.

[00:02:37] I have to give a shout out to Gratitude Brewing. We’ve taken all their parking spaces. Their employees can’t even get to work. The owner is very gracious and is here to support us. So what we have to do sometime this weekend is we have to go support a locally-owned business that’s supporting our right to free speech. Gratitude Brewing.

[00:03:01] Today’s event is brought to you by the Activist Coalition of Eugene Springfield, aka ACES. It’s a coalition of 24 organizations committed to resisting authoritarianism and fostering democracy. We are all committed to peaceful actions, and we encourage you to find an ACES organization that aligns with your heart, from climate change, which is increasing at an alarming pace, to getting health care for, hmm, I don’t know. Who deserves health care? It’s all of us, that’s right. So regardless of your passion, there is an ACES organization for you. Please join us.

[00:03:45] A core principle behind today’s event is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all of you, all participants, to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, shouldn’t be here. Please do not let anyone agitate you to violence. That’s what they want. We’re not going to give them what they want. Instead, we’re going to show them our power through nonviolent action. Yes.

[00:04:23] Today we are going to show the world that we disagree with the horrific and illegal actions taken by the Trump regime. We stand with immigrants. We stand with the trans community. We stand with labor. We stand with democracy, humanity, and dare I say, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

[00:04:48] So speaking of solidarity, I want to tell you about a new website that some of our activist friends have started. It’s called EugeneTogetherStrong.org. It will connect you to all of the actions our speakers are going to present on today—ways to help in our local community and help our neighbors survive. It will teach you about how civil resistance can be successful…

[00:05:11] I need you to read a book. It’s by Erica Chenoweth. It’s called Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know. Read anything by her. Google her. Watch videos if you need different types of learning. She is a researcher who found that it will only take 3.5% of the population engaged in active civil resistance. That means every day or every other day, not every couple months. Active civil resistance is how we will topple authoritarian regimes.

[00:05:49] We can do it. Look at all of you. Next time bring a friend or more. We got this.

[00:05:57] So today I’m going to invite you to participate in a small act with me. You see, civil resistance involves noninstitutional actions. So today we are marching without a permit.

[00:06:14] I knew you were ready for this. It’s a small but deliberate act of defiance. We’re building our democratic muscles for what’s next…

[00:06:31] So, as you recall correctly, a big part of the problem of this regime is the billionaires. The oligarchy doesn’t want us to have unions. They don’t want us to have fair wages, and they don’t want to provide us benefits. They certainly don’t want you to retire, and they definitely don’t want us organizing. Silly, silly, silly billionaires.

[00:06:56] I have been a proud member of SEIU Local 503 for almost 20 years. They are an organization of more than 72 ,000 people who by joining together, like we are today, have achieved what they could not accomplish alone. I can say i’m working under the best contract I’ve ever had thanks to the efforts of the bargaining team. And this gentleman, I am so honored to welcome to the stage, the president of SEIU Local 503, Johnny Earle.

[00:07:39] Johnny Earl (SEIU Local 503): Thank you. SEIU! SEIU! SEIU! SEIU! SEIU! SEIU!

[00:07:48] Hi everybody, I’m Johnny Earl. I’m the president of SEIU. SEIU represents state workers, home care workers, university workers and I’m a university worker. I work right over there at the University of Oregon right now for 24 years. That’s almost half my life. Just kidding.

[00:08:09] My role was as a custodial coordinator. I’m proud to tell you that because our union in 1921 started was by custodians. I am proud to have a job. Reason why I say that, if you don’t believe me, ask someone who’s looking for a job. All jobs matter. All jobs matter when they pay you recently, give you benefits, and pensions. Those are the jobs that matter.

[00:08:47] I’m originally from Chicago, but I came to Eugene at 19, and I stayed for five years. One thing I’ll say, the best thing, it was the best decision I ever made. I left Eugene for 15 years, because I tell you one thing, if you want to appreciate Eugene, leave Eugene. I know.

[00:09:09] Being a part of the labor movement changed my life. I stand in front of you as a former resident of this town, but I still live here in my mind because Eugene is a place of mine. We believe in equity, inclusion. You welcomed me as a young man and you’re welcoming when I came back as a middle-aged man. And I will always be with you, not only in my heart, but in our union, ensuring that your memory matters. Ensuring that Eugene, the second- or third-largest city in this state, matters.

[00:09:46] And do you know why it matters to me? We sit right here on hallowed ground. The name of this building is Wayne Morse. Wayne Morse mattered. Wayne Morse did something that few congressmen would do. He voted against the Vietnam War and the Gulf of Tonkin. And that matters. Wayne Morse also believed in the Constitution for everyone, not like the clown in office right now.

[00:10:20] So this is what solidarity looks like. When labor comes together with communities, nothing can defeat us. Good always wins over bad, especially bad legislation and bad administrations.

[00:10:36] I’m a child of a teenage pregnancy. I wasn’t supposed to be here. She was 15 and he was 17. Unfortunately, like most relationships at that age, they didn’t make it. But she loved me enough to believe in one thing: that her son would do better. Her son would grow up and join a union. Her son would grow up and matter. And I will be forever to that mother that I love dearly.

[00:11:07] But during that time, we were on public assistance. I got food stamps. My health insurance were provided by Medicaid and Medicare. I got all the benefits that matter. Public education matters. I got educated. I had a stuttering problem as a child and I got extra help in grade school. There’s a threat of those being cut, the threat of those funding being cut.

[00:11:39] Not to mention, as I said, we call it SNAP benefits (I will always call it food stamps), because it helped me. We live in troubled times. Things that matter don’t really matter anymore, at least to this administration. One of them being our constitutional rights. Our First Amendment, our right to assemble right here as we’re exercising, our Fourth Amendment, but most importantly our Fourteenth Amendment, which fleed the slaves and also gave right to anyone born in this country. That matters.

[00:12:12] And let’s not forget the due process of the law, as masked men are stealing people around this country. Sad.

[00:12:28] Our country is moving backwards, not forward. The rich is getting richer, and the working class is falling further and further behind. Now the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is going to impoverish even more people and as we all could see, there’s enough people living on the street right now. Cuts that used to matter that there actually cuts never matters it never matter because in this country we believe in people in this country. We’re supposed to believe in prosperity for everyone in this country. We breathe in freedom of thought. In this country we are the people.

[00:13:12] Everyone deserves a fair, fair chance: The right to marry who you want, the right to prosper and have freedom of thought, and the right to be who you are. Remember, we can build beautiful things from toxic environments because we’re living in one. No laws can stand from the, no laws can stand for the people from reaching their fullest potential. People always find the way to prosper and live free. Hate.

[00:13:48] It’s time we show them we’re united for the fight and stand there up for what we believe in and we will remember that we kneel to no kings in this state. In this state, our state, we value independence in this state. Our state, we’re willing to stand for trans rights and immigrants rights and Black lives matter.

[00:14:25] In this state, our state, we believe in basic rights for all Oregonians. In this state, our state, we believe in hope.

[00:14:34] We are going to be raised for fights just like this. As I lose my voice. So I’m going to ask you something. Are you ready to stand for our values? (Yes!) Are you ready to stand for our Constitution? (Yeah!) Are you ready to stand for due process of the law for everyone? (Yeah!) All right, let’s go get it.

[00:15:03] Debbie Williamson Smith: Excellent! Thank you so much, Johnny! Thank you, SEIU Local 503!

[00:15:13] From one strong union to another, let me introduce the president of the Lane Community College faculty union, here representing the Lane County education workers. That’s all the education unions. Please welcome Adrienne Mitchell.

[00:15:30] Adrienne Mitchell (Lane County education workers): Good morning. This is what democracy looks like. Public education is a catalyst for social movements and systemic change for the common good, where free expression, a most precious gem, forms the very bedrock of our democracy.

[00:15:55] But public ed is under attack. The Trump administration cuts funding, quashes protests, and does mass deportations, abandoning our nation’s promise and leaving our students, workers, and families in fear.

[00:16:15] Threats against sanctuary states and DEI strike at the heart of free speech, pushing our nation dangerously closer to autocracy and ideological tyranny.

[00:16:26] I teach at Lane Community College, and I’m here today speaking on behalf of Lane County education workers. We are a coalition of local labor unions. We are the thousands of educators in Eugene, Bethel, in Springfield schools.

[00:16:50] Instructors and classified at Lane Community College and UO, students, graduate teaching workers, faculty, and classified together—we are the educators at every public institution in our local area. Please sign our statements of support, come to our rallies, participate in our calls for action, because public ed is under attack right here in our community.

[00:17:19] False austerity is driving calls for unnecessary budget cuts, threatening essential services that our schools and colleges provide. Corporate donors and MAGA interests have an outsized influence on our publicly-elected Board of Education and trustees, limiting the voice of the voters.

[00:17:46] This creates a crisis of democracy in public education at every level. Our unions are fighting to preserve our freedoms and prioritize our student needs where we have power, at the bargaining tables and out here with everyone today. Springfield teachers are fighting for safe classrooms, professional respect, and prep time for elementary school teachers who work with the youngest students.

[00:18:18] Classified workers in Eugene 4J are striving for union rights, nursing support for students, and recruitment and retention of bus drivers who get our kids to school safely every day.

[00:18:34] At LCC, we’re fighting to protect immigrants, to increase mental health services for our students, and to preserve faculty free speech rights, and to participate in civic life free from institutional censorship, like we’re doing right here today.

[00:18:54] And we are pushing back against a college administration holding meetings in violation of open meeting law. Despite the protests of our publicly elected board members, this is not just about wages and benefits. We’re advocating for justice for our students and pushing back against local efforts to fundamentally undermine the public sector. As Lane County education workers, we are united in our struggles and we stand in solidarity with our students.

[00:19:38] As a labor movement and with all the communities here today, we must remain steadfast marching together for the future of our democracy.

[00:19:55] Debbie Williamson Smith: Thank you, Adrienne. So you may have noticed that the administration is targeting trans people. That’s not cool. They’re targeting them every way they can. They’re revoking protections. They’re denying gender-affirming care. They are calculated and it is cruel and we cannot let that happen. Please welcome my friend from Trans Alliance for Lane County, Jacob Griffin:

[00:20:35] Jacob Griffin (Trans Alliance of Lane County): Hello, Antifa! I wish you all could see this crowd from my point of view, because it’s amazing and beautiful and it fills my heart.

[00:20:50] I am a trans man living in Donald Trump’s America. That means that I have been labeled as a person only loyal to trans ideology, whatever that might be. I believe that means I feel really good in my body now and I didn’t used to.

[00:21:14] The people not up here today are immigrants. I want all of us to take a moment to think about the fact that there are people in our community under direct attack day by day who are too afraid to stand up here and tell you they are afraid. So we’re going to do it for them.

Every Tuesday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., down at the (old) federal building, immigrants who are here legally who are following the law come for their check-ins and it’s like playing Russian roulette. They have no lawyers, they’re allowed to take no one with them, and we don’t know if they’re going to come back out again. Over 100 people have been taken since Trump’s administration started here in your town, where you are.

[00:22:16] Trans people know that we’re next. The Trump administration tied us to this from the very beginning. That’s what that man wanted to do on his first day in office is make it more likely for me to be raped if I am ever jailed.

Since then they have removed health care for children against the wishes of those children’s parents and their doctors. They have removed trans people with the support of the Supreme Court from the military. They have removed trans people from the intelligence community and from every part of the government they can.

They are following the Nuremberg Law plans for trans people. They are making us outside of public life. And we make up less than 1% of the population so we are helpless without you. (We’re with you!)

[00:23:30] Thank you. That’s the hard part. Here’s the better part.

[00:23:41] In November, a small group of us got together and started talking. One of us was already going to county commission meetings, and six of us joined her on the beginning of January. By March, there were 350 of us in that room, and the county commission voted to make a sanctuary county for immigrants and trans people.

[00:24:10] Joining with other people, Eyes Off Eugene, many other people who were already working, we were able to convince City Council of Eugene to ban Flock cameras by an eight-to-one vote.

[00:24:25] Others of us are working on the same thing in Springfield. These are not specifically related to trans rights, they’re related to keeping. We have only one thing we can do, we can keep Lane County as fascist free as we can. And that means fighting at every moment, we don’t let them put cameras up to survey us. We don’t let them do illegal things.

[00:24:53] Now, you can do so many things right now. Little things, big things. Find a school that can no longer afford to give kids breakfast and help feed them. Find an immigrant neighbor and ask if you can do their grocery shopping if they’re afraid. There are a lot of small things you can do, but I am going to ask you to do one big thing.

[00:25:19] You can’t stop fascism after it’s fully in place as people. Wars do, coups do, but we won’t be able to. We have to stop it now. What’s happening down at the fed building is the beginning of that machinery. When they run out of immigrants, we already know that trans people are the next line in the poem. What we don’t know for sure is who comes after that.

[00:25:48] And right now, most of the people who are down at the fed building are going to be in the first round of people to be arrested. I need the rest of you to be there before that.

I know it’s hard to leave work on a Tuesday. I’m asking you to spend your lunch hour. I’m asking you to bring a sandwich. I’m asking you to come on your way home from work. I’m asking you to drop off a pizza. I’m asking you to do anything you can on the last Tuesday of the month when most immigrants are kidnapped.

[00:26:18] I need you—we need you to show up at the Fed building. There’s a prayer vigil at noon, there’s a silent vigil at one, and I have a book club at two. You could start a knitting club. You could do anything, but get out there and make your voice heard before it’s too late. Thank you.

[00:26:39] Debbie Williamson Smith: I’m so grateful for Jacob being in my life because there’s someone who just gave up their time to protect someone else. Like we can learn a lot from that, right? Right.

You may not be aware of this, you might be seeing people with ‘No Amazon’ buttons on, but Amazon is trying to build a warehouse in Eugene. There’s going to be information around. Stop giving them your money. We all showed what could happen when they tried to take away free speech and we were able to shut down Disney by unsubscribing. Stop giving them our money. Stop giving them our money. They evade taxes, and they are planning, and they fuel the mass deportations by providing ICE with data storage services to expand surveillance and data gathering.

[00:28:02] Now, if you know anything about Eyes Off Eugene, you know that we’re not really that down with surveillance. And if you’ve been paying attention, you know those automated license plate reader cameras, also known as Flock cameras, just kind of appeared out of nowhere. And now they’re shut off, thanks to a great effort from our community.

[00:28:27] And here to talk about what’s next is Kai Fireside from Eyes Off Eugene.

[00:28:37] Kai Fireside (Eyes Off Eugene): Thank you. Hi, I’m Kai Fireside and I’m an organizer of Eyes Off Eugene here in Eugene in Springfield. And I don’t know what I, of all people, am doing up here today. (You’ve got this!)

[00:28:57] Thank you. Thank you. For me, this all started in June when I learned about a new mass surveillance system called Flock being installed here in our neighborhoods. A number of people objected to this invasion of privacy and government overreach. As we learned more about the company, how the technology worked, and who had access to that data, we felt like it made us less safe.

[00:29:27] So we began to work together. Many of us had never been involved in political action before. I previously helped unionize Starbucks stores in Eugene and Springfield. But getting involved directly with government was totally new for me. Our group spoke at city council in both cities. We raised community awareness. We spent time every day learning about the company, learning about the technology, and informing those around us.

[00:30:02] As the public awareness grew, our effort against Flock grew. More and more people started to show up. Everyone spoke with their own voice and told their own story and it took a little while but both cities heard us.

[00:30:24] We have since gone on to meet with political leaders around the state. I’m still getting used to the idea that yes, the representative will email me back. I guess what I would like to say is: You can have a really big impact by getting a little bit involved and showing up and participating. We have had the pleasure of working with a number of advocacy groups in this community and they are full of people who care this is democracy all of the work that we’ve done the last four months has been democracy. Speaking at city council meetings is democracy.

[00:31:12] Eugene Chief of Police Skinner recently made a statement that this technology would remain in our community. That is not democracy. But democracy requires our involvement. It requires people doing what you are doing right now. Show up, participate in the process, and make sure you are heard.

[00:31:38] And the democratic process can be frustratingly slow, but it is vital to ensure that we all live in the kind of society that we want to live in. Through our group’s actions, Eugene has decided to pause the use of Flock surveillance, and Springfield has kept theirs off. Thank you.

[00:32:19] Libraries are endangered. Willamette Valley Crisis Care, formerly CAHOOTS, and many other social programs need your help. If you care about these programs, meet other people that are passionate about it and work with them. I’m thrilled to see so many people here today and if just a few of you can join efforts to build a better society, then we can begin to turn things around. Thank you.

[00:32:50] Debbie Williamson Smith: Thank you, Kai. Okay, Let’s learn about Eyes On Ice from our last speaker, please welcome from the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Rob Fisette. (Yeah, Rob!)

[00:33:01] Rob Fisette (Party for Socialism and Liberation): All right. Hey, everybody. I know we want to march, so I’ll keep it short. I’ll try.

A lot of people have been talking about immigrant defense, about mass deportations, even as they’re talking about labor, even as they’re talking about trans issues.

[00:33:18] What this means to me is that immigrant rights and workers’ rights and trans rights, that’s one struggle, one fight. (Yeah!) Immigrant and workers’ rights, one struggle, one fight. Immigrant and workers’ rights, one struggle, one fight.

[00:33:39] So you all heard already about what’s been going on down at the federal building. They’ve been kidnapping people from inside the building. We’ve been organizing with the Lane County Immigrant Defense Network and other organizations in town and out of town to execute immigrant defense in our city, building rapid response, building accompaniment down at the field office, and yes, having demonstrations down at the field office.

[00:34:05] And we know it’s effective. We know it’s been effective because actually detentions, arrests of immigrant neighbors at the federal building has gone down and we’ve seen it go down. Others have been released from the detention center in Tacoma after getting legal support and having their arrest challenged as illegal. Our legal support people locally have done that.

[00:34:36] And we know it’s been effective because when we’ve been demonstrating down at the office, they’ve been trying to attack and intimidate our people and our movement. They came out on Aug. 26, and they were rough. They pushed one demonstrator down, sent her to the emergency room.

[00:35:00] Among other things, they want to intimidate us. Are they going to intimidate us? No! We’re going to be out there again and again and again until we defeat this entire disgusting, racist system.

[00:35:17] And we know our work has been working because just this week they shifted tactics. They’ve been arresting people in our community instead of at the building. They’ve had to come out, they’ve come out from the secrecy of the inside of the building.

[00:35:31] And so we now, we need to shift. We need to organize around that. They’re going to be in your neighborhood. They’re going to be in my neighborhood. And we need all of you to do your part. And so what is that part? What we do, they can do what they want. I mean, they are going to do what they want. But what we do is decisive. What we do is what matters. There are millions of us. There are thousands of them. Okay? So what are we calling you to do today?

[00:35:59] One: Sign up with the Lane County Immigrant Defense Network. If you got a flyer with calls to action for today or the website, that’s on the website. Sign up so you can get those calls to action. They change. It’s shifting all the time. The political landscape is shifting. Their tactics are shifting. You need to be in touch with what’s happening right now and get those calls to action right now.

[00:36:21] Second: Show up with us at the (old) federal building. I won’t belabor that. Jacob (Griffin), Jacob did the best advertisement already, so I won’t. But we’ll be there on the last Tuesday of every month standing with our neighbors, regardless of the intimidation, not because we’re not afraid, but because it’s our responsibility to be there.

[00:36:41] And third: We have to get organized. Everyone here has to get organized. The horizon for immigrant defense is to actually defeat this agenda in its totality. That’s why we say it’s one struggle, one fight. That’s how we proactively defend our neighbors, is we win, we actually win. And we can’t win by standing alone, we have to be organized with other people to win.

[00:37:07] We’ve had single great fighters in the world. If single great fighters could have won, we would have won already. We need organization. It’s our disorganization that feeds this system its profit. So that’s what we need. We want to actually defeat the billionaire agenda that terrorizes immigrants, LGBTQ people, women, Black people, to Johnny’s point, cuts Medicaid, cuts food stamps, cancels union contracts of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. We need to defeat that.

[00:37:46] On May 1, on May 1, 2006, millions of immigrants organized, stayed out of school, stayed out of work, stayed out of the fields (I remember that) across the country for one day, May 1, 2006, a day without an immigrant. Does anyone remember this? Yes! One day’s pay for most immigrant working families is a massive sacrifice. That’s part of the point.

[00:38:12] So the whole point of this wretched system is to make that a sacrifice. But they did it in one day, they’re out for one day, and they defeated George Bush’s racist, immigrant, so-called immigration reform. One day. Yeah!

[00:38:26] So everyone here already knows what it will take to win. We already know that we need a general strike to win, right? Everyone says this already. They say this to me every day. They’re like, ‘Hey, when’s it coming? When’s the general strike coming?’ Well, it’s obvious what we need to win.

[00:38:41] But it takes organization, it takes dedication, it takes courage, it takes taking it seriously. It’s happened before, a lot of times in American history, to demonstrate the obvious point that whatever the billionaires think, we run this society. We go to work, we make the society run. It can run without them, it can’t run without us. (That’s right!)

[00:39:05] So I would say that’s where we go from No Kings. Ten plus – 15 million people across the country taking the streets—a beautiful display of protest, a beautiful display of opposition, but that’s the organization it takes to defeat this system. So join the network, join us in mobilizing at ICE, connect with the Lane County Immigrant Defense Network, join our socialist contingent, and immigrant and workers’ rights.

[00:39:34] One struggle, one fight. Let’s go. (Thank you Rob!)

[00:39:43] Presenter: The No Kings rally called participants to action with 24 groups in the Activist Coalition of Eugene Springfield. Four of those groups spoke Saturday, with a call to action to support unions, trans rights, immigrants, and an end to Flock surveillance cameras.

[00:39:58] You can learn more about those four calls to action, and about all 24 groups, at the website, EugeneTogetherStrong.org.

[00:40:06] Field recordings by Todd Boyle for KEPW 97.3, Eugene’s Peaceworks Community Radio. You can watch the entire rally on Todd’s YouTube channel.