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INSIDER TAKE - Massive public protests against the lawless thuggery, rot, and election-rigging by the Trump Administration collided this week with long-suppressed truth about sexual assaults by the late union organizer Cesar Chavez.
This collision occurred in the run-up to nationwide No Kings rallies on Sat., March 28, and the official state holiday in California bearing the name of the farmworker leader, on March 31.
The result is a day of 3/28 No Kings rallies with an added dimension of advocacy against sexual abuse, retaliation, and cover-up and for recognition and respect for survivors. This enormous, powerful network of Americans who have survived sexual assault and coercion, which numbers into the millions, this week gained a new heroic standard-bearer in Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Dolores Huerta, who named Chavez as her assailant in one of several assaults he is alleged to have perpetrated.
Among the largest 3/28 No Kings rallies in L.A. County is the one set to occur in Glendale at noon to 2 pm on the welcoming, tree-lined public plaza behind Glendale City Hall at 613 E. Broadway. Led by East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), the huge, peaceful, people-powered event will incorporate upbeat live music and brief remarks by several local labor and women’s rights leaders as well as elected officials.
Ballots for the June 2 primary election go out barely a month after the rally. In addition to its major statewide impacts, the primary election will be pivotal for the makeup of the Glendale City Council, which presently has a narrow 3-2 edge for Democrats.
The city, with 51 percent immigrant residents, the highest of any city on the West Coast, has both practical and symbolic importance for the No Kings rally’s prevailing message. In America, diversity is strength. Immigrants help keep the promise of America alive. Democracy, under assault by Trump and subservient Republicans, can be resurgent when ALL who embrace the promise of America use our voices and our votes to protect, uplift, and defend it.
In addition to highlighting the trailblazing work by Dolores Huerta, the 3/28 No Kings rally in Glendale will recognize and celebrate teachers. Educators in Glendale have been on the front lines for 4 years pushing back vs. orchestrated smears and anti-LGBTQ+ vitriol attempting to undermine the city’s public schools.
Teachers in L.A. are also preparing for a possible strike amid concerns about unaffordable housing, large class sizes, and a Superintendent under a cloud for withholding state voter-approved arts and music funding from classrooms and under federal investigation for possible fraud involving an AI contract with a bankrupt vendor.
On this landscape, uniting residents in peaceful protest to push back vs. MAGA billionaires, bigotry, and broken promises and for resilient democracy at all levels takes on extra significance. That is both the challenge and the joy of the 3/28 No Kings rally in Glendale.
(Hans Johnson is a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns have appeared in USA Today and leading newspapers across more than 20 states. Based in Eagle Rock, he serves as president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), California’s largest grassroots Democratic club with over 1,100 members. Hans brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his work, advancing equity and accountability in local and national politics.)
