NO KINGS Protest, Benicia CA, March 28, 2026 | Photo RStraw
I’m used to counting crowds in the hundreds, and I’m pretty good at that. I’m not much good at counting bodies in the thousands, so don’t quote me on this. But I think there were well over 2000 protesters on the banks and sidewalks around Benicia’s Gazebo.
I thought the early 9am hour might be a problem here, and we’d see fewer Benicia protesters than last June or October. But no! The movement in Benicia is growing. We’re part of a massive uprising nationwide, who will not stand by while Trump and his crowd try to destroy our successful experiment in democracy.
Here’s one of my favorite signs. True.
NO KINGS Protest, Benicia CA, March 28, 2026 | Photo RStraw
Stay tuned for more as I receive photos and links from others…
Roger Straw The Benicia Independent
REMEMBERING…
Benicia in Solidarity with Minnesota, February 2026:
Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it’s the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, carried by millions in chants and on posters, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together.
The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings, and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. Grow our movement and join us.
A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.
Roger Straw: On Monday this week, Rachel Maddow gave the most convincing case for a third NO KINGS PROTEST. Her eleven good reasons (below) document the outrageous Trump and MAGA offenses since the last NO KINGS DAY! It was a tricky search gathering the transcript and video, but here they are. PLEASE show up in Benicia and/or Vallejo this Saturday, and see if you can bring someone who wasn’t planning to go!
[24:55 – 27:07] Transcript follows, see especially the 11 “bullets”. For the video, see below.)
This weekend, this Saturday…Minneapolis, will be the flagship protest in what is expected potentially to be the largest single day of protest in American history.
June of last year, that was the first No Kings protest. That drew an astonishing 5 million people across the country. You might remember that was June 14th, the first No Kings Day. That was the day Trump tried to throw himself a weird North Korea style military parade for his own birthday. That sad low turnout event was wildly overshadowed by five million Americans turning out at protests against Trump all over the country.
And then there was the second No Kings Day in October. That one did not draw 5 million people. That one drew 7 million people. The flagship protest in October was in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the Constitution. 7 million people turned out on No King’s Day in October.
And that was before…
Trump bulldozed the east wing of the White House
and before he tried to arrest six Democratic members of Congress
and before we learned that in addition to bombing random boats in the Caribbean, he was also deliberately killing the survivors of those bombings, which is a war crime.
It was before he invaded Venezuela and announced he was taking their oil.
It was before he started an apocalyptic war with Iran.
It was before he renamed the Kennedy Center for himself and then announced that he would close it.
It’s before he blew up health insurance for millions of American families.
It’s before he effectively made the Nobel Peace Prize winner give him her prize.
It’s before he sent the FBI to seize the ballots from Atlanta, Georgia.
It’s before he posted a video online depicting President Obama and his wife Michelle Obama as if they were apes.
It’s before they killed Renee Nicole Good. It’s before they killed Alex Pretty. It’s before they took Liam.
This Saturday, it will be Minneapolis as the flagship, but there are more than 3,000 separate protests planned all over the country this Saturday.
NO KINGS BENICIA
Saturday, March 28, 2026
9:00 AM — 10:30 AM PDT
at the Gazebo and sidewalks
First & Military St., Benicia, CA 94510 Register HERE
BRING A SIGN, JOY, FIERCE DETERMINATION,
& LOTS OF HOPE…
The future of our Democracy is at stake! Info about all nearby Rallies
AFTER THE BENICIA RALLY… many will head over to the Vallejo rally (see below), and many will return for the Fiestas Primavera – Celebrating Diversity, 12pm-5pm at Benicia Gazebo Park (More about Fiestas Primavera here).
NO KINGS VALLEJO
Rally, Food Drive & March
March 28 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Unity Plaza – JFK Library | 505 Santa Clara St., Vallejo
Register HERE Info about all nearby Rallies
Across the country, Americans are asking hard questions about the direction of our democracy.
When federal immigration enforcement actions expand with limited oversight…
When journalists face arrest or intimidation while doing their jobs…
When transparency around high-profile investigations raises public concern…
When families feel the squeeze of rising costs and economic uncertainty…
It forces us to ask: Who holds power accountable?
The founders rejected monarchy for a reason. They built a system designed to prevent concentrated, unchecked authority. “No Kings” is not a slogan — it is a reminder that in America, power flows from the people, and leaders are accountable to the Constitution.
On March 28, Vallejo joins millions nationwide for the third No Kings Day of Action.
Join us for:
Guest speakers
Live music
A community march
A food drive in partnership with the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
Last time, more than 1,200 neighbors stood together. This time, we aim to grow even stronger.
This is about defending democratic norms, protecting a free press, demanding transparency, and ensuring that the government serves the people — not the other way around.
Bring a friend. Bring your voice. Bring shelf-stable food (no glass) to support local families.
There are no kings here.
AFTER THE VALLEJO RALLY & MARCH… consider attending Benicia’s Fiestas Primavera – Celebrating Diversity, 12pm-5pm at Benicia Gazebo Park (More about Fiestas Primavera here).
REMEMBERING…
Benicia in Solidarity with Minnesota, February 2026:
Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it’s the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, carried by millions in chants and on posters, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together.
The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings, and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. Grow our movement and join us.
A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.
The Benicia Library Foundation and Carquinez Village are hosting an informative session on the essentials of planned giving. This event is designed to help community members understand the process and benefits of planning their financial future, with a special focus on supporting local non-profit organizations.
A panel of experts in wills, trusts, and financial management will be available to answer your questions about planned giving. They will briefly speak about their areas of expertise, then address as many inquiries as time allows, providing valuable insights and guidance tailored to your needs. Join us: Wednesday, April 22, 5:30-7:00PM, Benicia Public Library, Doña Benicia Room, 150 East L St, Benicia. For more information contact: Helaine Bowles HBowles@ci.benicia.ca.us
Constance Beutel
Constance Beutel Benicia Library Foundation Board member
While living in the Philippines from 1987 to 1993, I knew about a half-dozen Filipinos who died from shootings in that wonderful but gun-plagued land. Most were just casual acquaintances of mine, yet each killing hit home. At the same time, though, I became grimly resigned to thinking, “That’s life (and death) in the Philippines.”
America’s own endless plethora of firearm fatalities may lead many of us to a similar conclusion: That’s life and death in the USA. And what with everything else going on these days, addressing gun violence has dropped off the national radar.
All the Empty Rooms, which won this year’s Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film, reminds us why we should still deeply care and strive to staunch this bloody epidemic.
A Labor of Love and Pain
Available on Netflix, the intensely heartfelt masterpiece takes viewers to four homes, four kids’ bedrooms and four sets of parents whose children died in school shootings. The parents have maintained the kids’ rooms as they were on the days of their deaths, as sources of solace.
The film is a labor of love and pain. For years, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman, ironically best known for his feel-good reporting, was sometimes called upon by the network to offer reflections on mass shootings.
Hartman grew frustrated with his personal and our national numbness over the repeated massacres. He resolved to illuminate the lives of the victims, rather than their deaths.
The result is All the Empty Rooms. It’s about those rooms, those families and how Hartman and a photographer friend documented them for a multi-media essay, CBS programs such as 60 Minutes and the film itself. As he puts it, “I started to think about the bedrooms that the kids leave behind and what it would be like, how might we change as a country if all of America could stand in those bedrooms and feel the loss in that way?”
Piercing the Numbness
Standing in those bedrooms, visiting with those parents and seeing videos of those kids indeed pierces the numbness.
Much of the film comprises a cascade of images and memories..
One mom describes how her son’s room retains his scent…
Another interprets Hartman contacting her as a sign that she should help him tell her daughter’s story…
Her husband reads a letter that the girl wrote to her future self for her first day of high school, reminding herself to stay positive…
Another dad acknowledges that visiting his child’s room makes him sad, but that the sadness helps him connect with her…
Displaying her phone’s video of her daughter frolicking with the family dogs, a mother (who later spoke at the Oscars) relates how the nine-year-old knew she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up…
A most moving moment shows the silent, immensely mournful face of her husband recalling their daughter.
Showing and Sharing
The cold, hard facts of national trends hammer home the widespread severity of this trauma. Firearms are the leading cause of childhood and teenage death in the United States. A study published by the American Medical Association found that states enacting relatively permissive gun laws saw those death rates rise from 2011 to 2023, particularly where those laws are most permissive; several states with strict restrictions saw the rates drop.
I offer such findings for context; they’re by no means the film’s focus. Instead, All the Empty Rooms is all about people, not data. It’s a sober, somber and above all gentle reminder of the price so many families have paid for mass shootings. It aims to show and share, not harass or harangue.
Steve Kerr’s Trauma and Take on the Film
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is an executive producer of the film, promoting but not profiting from it. When he was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Arizona in 1984, terrorists in Lebanon shot dead his father, American University of Beirut President Malcolm Kerr.
The trauma triggered Kerr’s fierce, lifelong dedication to combating gun violence. It’s to his great credit, and the Bay Area’s immense benefit, that this four-time NBA championship coach has brought compassion and inspiration to this and other issues.
Might the film be too hard to watch?
Here’s Kerr’s take: “Once I saw it, I was just blown away by the beauty, the sadness, the humanity, so poignantly done. And it’s important, given my advocacy for gun violence prevention, (that) you look for ways to touch everybody and avoid the political discourse that brings the issue down.
“The film perfectly threaded that needle. I’m trying to recommend everyone to watch it. It’s 35 minutes, but you should watch it. It’s hard to watch, but it’s unforgettable…
“A lot of people say to me, ‘This is hopeless.’ It’s not. We have [state and local] legislation that’s been passed frequently that is already saving lives. We know that statistically. But it’s really the movement that’s most important to me, the consensus of, ‘We have to get something done.’”
Count me among the many who watch TV, including Warriors games, partly to escape the world’s bitter realities these days. But an online Kerr interview moved me to watch the production, which in turn moved me way beyond expectations.
A Testament
The documentary is a testament to so many kids who left this world far too soon, to their folks’ strength in the face of enduring trauma and to our someday tackling gun violence on a national level.
That said, it’s just one small film. Clearly, the movement and consensus Kerr seeks are by no means ascendant.
But one thing that American and overseas experience teaches us is that any cause’s progress can take decades, including long stretches of defeat and despair. Along the way, we can keep the flame burning through efforts such as this.
Despite their unparalleled, unbearable loss, the parents opened up their homes and hearts to viewers, admirably hoping that we take away something positive.
I know I did. Along with all the grief and loss, these empty rooms are full of love.
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