Who Is "No Kings" For?
By Lynn Peters, Flourish Leadership Board member
Many of us have been finding hope in the recent outcry of "No Kings" protests across the country. As these protests grow, it can feel as though the tide is against our current administration and the tyrannical behavior they exhibit. The ideals of democracy necessitate a firm rejection of monarchy and a recommitment to liberty and justice for all.
As we look for hope in this bleak political nightmare, I caution us to be looking around. Who have we linked arms with? What message are we sending? Is it the one we mean to send?
It's been noted in multiple places that these protests are not looking very racially diverse. Folks are speculating about why we don't see more Black and Brown people coming out to join the fight.
My first reaction was, "Of course not! It's not safe. We White allies are the ones who belong here." Others have noted that Black people have been at this fight for freedom and dignity for a long time, and it's time for others to step up — especially as our current administration has blatantly cancelled all efforts to bring equity and healing to racial disparities in our country.
But what if those aren't the only reasons for this predominantly White campaign of unrest? What if "No Kings" is missing the mark — even revealing the very White Supremacy culture we're still entrenched in?
"No Kings" harkens back to early American colonists fighting the English monarchy, escaping the caste system of British hierarchy. Here's the problem: they brought with them the very entitlement, racial prejudice, violence and exclusion they ran from. Native Americans were treated horribly. Poor Europeans were indentured or enslaved. Laws were created to benefit an elite class of White men. Chattel slavery built the wealth of this country without regard for the horrors of that institution.
Our nation became wealthy (and great ) on the backs of the indigenous, enslaved and oppressed. These were the heroes of early American prosperity, but we still seem to only acknowledge the White patriots who fought a revolution against their colonizer.
On March 25, 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as the "gravest crime against humanity" and calling for reparations. The United States voted against it.
We have yet to properly address the trauma inflicted on millions of people — most of them Black, Brown, Asian and poor.
I can’t help but wonder if “No Kings” is carrying a message that we still want freedom, representation and justice for all (White) people. That we want democracy as a rule of governance, but we are willing to accept the inequities of systems we’ve built and maintained here in the US.
Can we first be truthful about the wrong we’ve perpetuated against so many communities of color? Can we first reckon with the reality of our disregard for certain lives? Because until we do, "No Kings" is not enough.
Photo credit - Bradley Andrews
