A grand old idea to promote the No Kings movement

A protester in Salt Lake City holds both a U.S. flag and a Mexican flag at a No Kings Day demonstration on June 14, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

In 1996, women from both sides of the strife tearing apart Northern Ireland, then divided along ethno-nationalist lines, formed a political party to advocate for inclusion and human rights in upcoming peace talks. Only the top 10 vote-getting parties would be part of the talks. Though they organized only six weeks in advance of the election, the women’s party came in ninth out of 24.

Their remarkable success was attributed to keeping their message simple: inclusion, human rights and equality. They also urged “transversal politics,” meaning members could keep their own identity and views on various issues while respecting those of others to advance their common goal of having a voice at the table. Their slogan was “Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs.”

The No Kings movement could learn from those Irish women.

I consider myself part of the No Kings movement. I call it a movement because movements are collective efforts by a group of people to bring about or resist social or political change.

There were eight marches to protest the values and policies of the Trump Administration in my small state of Rhode Island on June 14, which just so happened to be Flag Day.

That day, tens of thousands of people showed up for marches in New York, New Jersey and Southern California. Estimates overall suggest millions of people participated in marches across the United States. Photos of the demonstrations show some marchers waved U.S. flags, but the flags of other nations appeared as well.

Consequently, the simple message conveyed by the name of the No Kings movement can get lost in the many messages that accompany and are associated with the movement. Frankly, it needs better organizational goals and marketing.

As a female academic teaching security studies in professional military education for 20-plus years, the importance of “reading the room” and consequently properly “selling your message” to the audience cannot be overstated. What will make them listen? What will shut them down? The same is true for the growing numbers of Trump supporters who are disappointed — and frightened by — the actions of an increasingly authoritarian regime. Latino voters who helped Trump retake the White House, for example, are falling away, as are low-information voters, rural voters, young adults and ethnic voters. But they will not be lured to a movement that often conveys mixed messages through its rhetoric and images. The message ought to be of a tolerant, diverse, united America. But that’s not always the case.

The Fourth of July is the perfect opportunity to do better.

Rather than showing up at rallies and parades with flags from other countries and symbols of political causes, No Kings supporters should show up with American flags. Diversity makes America great, and a sea of diverse individuals all waving the same flag shows a united front. All Americans are Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and all Americans are Mexican on Cinco de Mayo. Now all Americans and those who want to live in an American democracy need to show their support for American democracy when trying to stop an autocracy. “Make America Great Again” Trumpians have usurped the America flag as their own but abandoned American values. The No Kings movement needs to embrace and retake the American flag as its own, as a symbol of American democracy and values.

Further, rather than glorifying individuals who have been unjustly attacked after they exercised their constitutional rights to, for example, free speech — some of whom are themselves divisive for their political views — simply support the right to free speech, as well as freedoms like religion and assembly. Don’t give Trumpians the opportunity to distort the important message of the No Kings movement into one of a hyper-radicalized left where individuals can’t even get along with each other. For the movement to grow, it must attract diverse individuals who can tip the scales away from authoritarianism. It must give all individuals a safe and welcoming place to go.

And while many individuals are rightly afraid of their rights being abused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or some other form of retribution, individuals can be identified with or without a mask if the government is determined to do so. Pictures of individuals who show up at rallies or parades wearing masks and waving flags from other countries quickly become headline news or click bait for right-wing media. That does not serve the movement well.

We are living in an era of normalized chaos, deliberately created to allow autocracy to take hold. The No Kings movement clearly shows there is opposition. Movements can learn from the success and failure of others. No Kings should take an organizational and marketing lesson from the women of Northern Ireland.

Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.