Louisiana Voice

The headline in today’s New York Sun pretty much says everything one needs to know about the Repugnantcan Party of 2025:

Republicans Cast This Weekend’s ‘No Kings’ Protests as ‘Hate America’ Rallies, Raising Organizer Fears of a Crackdown

Repugnantcans are absolutely terrified of tomorrow’s No Kings 2.0 demonstrations scheduled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Canadian to the Mexican borders. A reader even provided us with a handy illustration that carries a Louisiana theme for the rallies:

Even in Baton Rouge, it appears that the local Repugnantcans, from the governor’s office to the mayor’s office, may have joined efforts to attempt to diminish the effect of the rally by Indivisible Baton Rouge – or at least keep the demonstration as far from the public eye as much as possible.

A spokesperson for Indivisible Baton Rouge said, “We are not able to hold this event at or near the State Capitol or in the downtown Baton Rouge area. The state Office of Facility Planning and Control informed Indivisible Baton Rouge that the capitol is undergoing cleaning and construction and will not be available for outdoor events for approximately a year. The Baton Rouge City Police said that permits for the downtown area were not available for Oct. 18, as several events and a parade have already been scheduled on that date for the downtown area.”

Sounds awfully coincidental but hey, that’s just me. But okay, defy the tide at your own peril.

The Baton Rouge rally has been scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon at 7122 Perkins Road, from Pennington Biomedical Research Center to Kenilworth Parkway, down Kenilworth to the BREC Perkins Rd. Community Park. “We will line up on the sidewalk near the entrance to Pennington, march towards Kenilworth Parkway, turn right on Kenilworth. There will be a rally in the BREC park near the corner of Perkins Rd. and Kenilworth Parkway,” the representative said.

Another statement from the organization was much more important, however. In light of the No Kings 2.0’s being labeled as “hate America” rallies, it’s key to note this: 

 “A core principle of this No Kings event, and all Indivisible events, is our commitment to non-violent action.”  Participants will act lawfully at all times and will seek to de-escalate potential confrontations with anyone who violently disagrees with our principles,a statement from Indivisible Baton Rouge said.

“From the ballot box to the picket line, generations of Americans have fought to secure fundamental freedom and dignity for all of us. The Trump administration is trying to strip away our freedom, including reproductive freedom. That’s why on Saturday, October 18, millions will gather together and demand: No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings!”

Indivisible is a grassroots movement founded in 2016 by former staff of the US Congress. The mission is to elect progressive leaders, rebuild and save our democracy, and defeat authoritarianism.

The original “Indivisible Guide” was written by a pair of former Congressional staffers in 2016 to help people resist the incoming Trump administration. The free Google Doc guide quickly went viral, and led to creation of the Indivisible movement and inspiring the book, “We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump.”  Soon, other contributors joined to write updated editions of the Guide and to create the Indivisible Project. The message was clear and simple: even in a dark and frightening moment, when Trump and his minions controlled every branch of the federal government, The People still had power. We could use our power to resist—and ultimately, to win.

The original two authors could never have predicted what would come next: that thousands of people would come together resist, to speak up and speak out and create a grassroots movement that would help save the Affordable Care Act, build a Blue Wave in 2018, stand in fierce solidarity with communities under threat, and ultimately, kick Donald Trump out of office in 2020.

Thousands of local groups sprang up organically, all over the country.  Local groups build and wield power in ways that individuals can’t. Change is created by the power of diverse people working together. An active Baton Rouge group started in 2017, but over the years it faded away, until early this year, when eight people found one another through common contacts. They got together to launch a new Indivisible organization for greater Baton Rouge. 

The leadership has grown to 14 people, who bring to the table the experience, talents, skills and abilities needed to work together to produce peaceful, joyful protest events in solidarity with millions of Americans all over the country. These events serve as statements that we treasure our democracy, and that we reject the authoritarian turn that our government is taking. 

Indivisible Baton Rouge’s first event was the April 5 Hands Off protest that drew about 600 people to the state capitol. We followed with the June 14 No Kings Day visibility event, that drew about 2000 people to downtown Baton Rouge. We partnered with 10,000 Women Louisiana for the June 20 Empty Chair Town Hall that packed the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge with an overflow crowd, with speakers who challenged the absent members of Congress (who were invited but were cowardly no-shows) to meet with constituents, actively listen to our concerns, and represent us in Washington according to authentic American values and traditions. 

Indivisible believes in a multiracial, inclusive democracy—one where everyone has equal rights and equal power, no matter where they live, who they love, or what they look like.  That’s the America we’re fighting for.

Similar rallies are scheduled for tomorrow across Louisiana:

• New Orleans Lafitte Greenway, 2200 Lafitte Ave. 3:30 – 5:30 pm. Congregate along the Greenway and walk down the trail and meet on the “Great Lawn” to rally between N. Prieur St. and N. Galvez St.
•  Shreveport-Bossier – 1. 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. along East 70th St. and Youree Drive.  2. Caddo Courthouse, 501 Texas St., 1 p.m.- 4 p.m.
• Alexandria – Outside the Riverfront Center, Jackson Street and 2nd Street, 10 a.m. – 12 noon
• Lake Charles – Lock Park, 1535 Ryan St., 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Lafayette – Prejean Unity Point, 735 Jefferson St., 10 a.m. until 12 noon.
• Ruston – Ruston Civic Center, 401 N Trenton St., 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
• Northshore – Hammond – Zemurray Park, 400 S Oak St., 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. There will be a protest and rally, followed by a series of speakers and chants, then a caravan to the New Orleans’ No Kings protest.
• Leesville – Leesville City Hall, 508 S 5th St., 12 noon – 2:00 p.m.
• Monroe –Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Renwick Street. Convene at the Renwick Pedestrian Footbridge, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

A hint to those who would ignore the growing dissatisfaction with the administration of Pedo-POTUS, here’s more information for you to ponder:

No Kings events are also planned in Portugal, Spain, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France ,Germany, Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rico, Japan and perhaps even Greenland.