NO KINGS DAY 2025 – One for the ages when we talk about political activism in Benicia

By Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent, June 15, 2025

In the last few days before the NO KINGS! rally in Benicia, as the numbers of respondents came in, planners knew it was going to be big. We thought there might even be, say, 250 or 300, which would be huge by almost all previous Benicia activist crowds. Big indeed – most estimates of the crowd were well over 1,000 and up to 1,500!
Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they tell a lot. This was a WOW! event in Benicia!
I arrived by car about a half hour early, expecting to help get things going. The sidewalks and park were already packed with people holding signs, chanting loudly and encouraging passing cars to honk their support.
I couldn’t find a parking place any closer than 3 ½ blocks away. Walking from there, we came upon an older couple like us, carrying signs and heading to the rally. After friendly greetings, the gentleman said he’d never protested during the ‘60s and ‘70s, and that this would be his first time attending a protest. Mary Susan got a good laugh when she responded, “Oh, we’re veterans at this and you’ll be fine!” We chatted some more, and learned that we’d all spent time living in Indianapolis, and so bonded as former Hoosiers.
The crowd in the park and all along the sidewalk was incredibly friendly. We hugged and chatted with lots of old friends, some of whom we hadn’t seen in years. We met new people and stood for pictures with our high-school graduate grandson, who arrived with a bunch of other Benicia High students. I’ve been to many protests, rallies and vigils in Benicia. You get used to seeing the same old (literally old) people. Not since March For Our Lives have I seen such a mix of young and old. Not since Black Lives Matter have I seen such a racially diverse crowd of concerned Benicians. And I’ve never seen such a wide spectrum of known and new folks. It was encouraging to know that NO KINGS has such a solid base of support in our small town. Yes!
Organizer Cathy Bennett came in her long red Handmaid’s Tale robe, and kicked off the event with a bullhorn welcome that could hardly be heard over the chants and cars honking.
Organizer Susan Street set up a welcome table and brought a portable bubble machine, which she carried around giving a celebratory light and life to the affair.
Later, Benicia Mayor Steve Young and City Councilmember Terry Scott spoke. And near the end of our time together, our State Senator Chris Cabaldon arrived and offered remarks. After his talk, I approached Chris with thanks, and with a knowing look that acknowledged the political assassination in Minneapolis that morning, I encouraged him to “be brave.”
I almost can’t express fully the sense I have that this gathering was historic for Benicia. And that the 2000+ similar rallies around the U.S. and abroad were also way larger than expected and peaceful, and strong in the growing public opposition to the Trump administration’s shockingly ambitious moves toward an authoritarian takeover that would destroy our democracy. The signs held up by protesters show us to be a thinking city, an aware and deeply concerned nation and world.
This can’t be the last such lifting of our voices in dissent. We continue to be a people of peace and kindness, a nation of liberty and justice for all. (See Benicia’s Juneteenth celebration.) In the “culture war” that is being promoted and executed by oligarchs and white Christian supremacists, we represent the backbone and vision of Dr. King’s long arc of the moral universe. “…the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Along with the rally signs, The Benicia Independent lifts a strong and insistent voice: Stop ICE! No Kings since 1776! Stop the cruelty! Liberty and justice for all! We will PERSIST and PREVAIL! Love always wins!
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