No Kings Rallies Count, But We Need Bigger and More Sustained Civil Resistance

In the early 1770s, American colonists, upset at heavy-handed British rule, waged a fierce resistance campaign that made it immensely difficult for the British to govern. Boycotts of British goods and refusals to pay taxes were just a few of the ways they made life unbearable before tensions erupted into the Revolutionary War.

The successful civil rights movement of the 1960s was sparked by small groups of students, including John Lewis, who conducted lunch counter sit-ins, street marches, business boycotts, and other forms of nonviolent resistance to protest and eventually end segregation in the South.

And so it has gone in America: Campaigns for women’s voting rights and nuclear nonproliferation trace their beginnings to deliberate, tactical civil resistance.

Now, as America approaches its 250th anniversary, groups of people—in geographies from Boston to Baton Rouge—are beginning to launch a nationwide civil resistance movement. And just like the Vietnam War, it is against our own government.

The president cannot consolidate power without airplanes to handle his deportation flights, banks that finance his detention centers, and a media that spreads his misinformation and squelches truth.

President Donald Trump and his loyalists are moving at jet speed to install an authoritarian government that is stamping out free speech, voting rights, civil rights, and other core foundations of our democracy.

They are also dismembering federal agencies that backstop science, healthcare, environmental protection, and a well-functioning economy. The protracted government shutdown, which has federal workers being furloughed and fired, is deepening the damage.

It is time to rise up again. We should not stand idle as our political institutions unravel. The ship is sinking rapidly, and it may not be salvageable a year from now. Even if the midterm elections bring more political resistance, much of the damage will have been done.

So it is up to us, average Americans to resist. But resistance needs strategy, training, and unwavering commitment to exercise that power. Every day. Every hour.

And in small but encouraging ways, it is happening again. One Million Rising, a national civil resistance movement launched in July by the nonprofit group Indivisible, is growing in numbers and impact. More than 300,000 trained volunteers are organizing protests, sit-ins, and other types of nonviolent interference aimed at businesses, the media, and other entities supporting the president’s policies.

The strategy is less about broad-based street demonstrations, such as Saturday’s No Kings! protests, and more about sharply focused, continuous collective action to undermine key pillars of support that the administration is relying on. By chipping away at vital institutions that uphold their power, the president’s castle of sand will erode and eventually tumble. The president cannot consolidate power without airplanes to handle his deportation flights, banks that finance his detention centers, and a media that spreads his misinformation and squelches truth.

We’re seeing positive progress, with the biggest focus being on Trump-friendly businesses.

Companies that are caving to the president’s pressure while getting favorable policy treatment are facing louder protests and boycotts.

When Disney and its ABC affiliate suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s show in September over his remarks about Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting, consumers quickly responded. Disney’s streaming apps lost more than 1 million paid subscribers in a matter of days. The show was quickly restored—a major victory for free speech.

And there is Avelo Airlines, a budget commercial airline that flies out of dozens of US cities, including Bradley and New Haven airports in Connecticut. It is facing growing resistance over its contract to handle deportation flights for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In New Haven, the teacher’s union, city government, and consumers have all come out publicly against the airline, calling for boycotts and an end to sponsorship deals. Similar protests are underway at Bradley and other airports in Baltimore, Atlanta, and across California.

Protesters are also targeting local governments deemed as being overly cooperative with the administration’s aggressive immigrant crackdown. Just this month, after loud protests inside and outside of City Hall, the Holyoke City Council narrowly rejected a resolution declaring that Holyoke is not a sanctuary city and would fully comply with all federal laws. Supporters said the resolution would protect Holyoke’s federal funding.

Councilor Patti Devine, who cast the decisive vote, said she planned to support the resolution but changed her mind after Latino, youth, and trans residents spoke in opposition.

These wins are surely important, but bigger, broader resistance efforts are urgently needed.

The movement needs more people. A lot more people. And it needs them every day. While it is encouraging that an estimated 7 million protesters participated in the No Kings! rallies on Saturday, most are not engaging in the more challenging and time-consuming resistance campaigns that the moment calls for.

So how many people do we need? One academic who has studied civil resistance movements globally, Erica Chenoweth, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, has developed what she calls the 3.5% rule. Chenoweth’s research of hundreds of campaigns over the last century shows that it takes around 3.5% of a population actively participating in civil resistance to ensure serious changes.

That means about 12 million people in America. No matter how you cut it, we’re not even close.

And we need to build these numbers quickly.

Just as President Trump is racing to consolidate his power, millions more Americans must move quickly to stop him.

A good first step is to sign up for One Million Rising and listen to its three online training sessions. They can also join local community groups that are already working on civil resistance campaigns in their communities. Or they can start a new community group.

It’s time.