We need to celebrate our victories by acknowledging them and by orchestrating future victories! I'll explain in more detail shortly. But first and foremost, what works to combat the wannabe dictator occupying the Oval Office is our solidarity: massing our bodies and our voices, in ways that are visible and loud! Which is why it is so very important that you join a NO KINGS Rally and March on Saturday, October 18. The main event in our area will take place at Cathedral Square Park (520 E Wells St, Milwaukee). The program includes an Organization Fair from 11:00am to noon, a Rally from noon to 1:00pm, and a March from 1:00 to 2:00pm. SIGN UP NOW and make a commitment to stand with your community, to voice your opposition, and to fight the fascist takeover of our government and way of life.
To organize this rally, which is sure to have an even bigger crowd than last time, we are joining with other local groups to raise enough funds to rent a large speaker system and screens with supplementary sound so that everyone can see and hear. Please consider making a donation to defray these costs. These grassroots organizations are not funded and so have to rely on their members and supporters to help defray necessary expenses. Please be as generous as you can. You can donate here.
Anticipating the size and scale of the rally and march, the organizers are also recruiting volunteers for a range of roles. Volunteers help keep our events safe, non-violent, effective, and accessible. Volunteers who join this list may be contacted about this event and future events. Go the extra mile and Volunteer!
No Kings rallies and marches are happening all over Wisconsin. You can look at the map of events in the entire country and zoom into Wisconsin to see where events are happening nearby. So if you are not going to be in the Milwaukee area on October 18, you can find one near where you will be and sign up. Also, I have listed information for the No Kings events in our surrounding area as of today — see the listings in the EVENTS list below. And keep in mind that with three weeks to go, new events are likely to be added. So check back if you can't find a suitable one right now.
Now about those victories. On Wednesday, September 17, Disney and ABC decided to "suspend" the Jimmy Kimmel Live! program indefinitely. But by Tuesday, September 23, it was back on the air. What happened? WE DID. Disney and ABC at first capitulated to the Trump administration because the chair of the Federal Communications Commission was threatening to decline to approve a merger — one that would also double the number of ABC stations any one business could own. The deal Nexstar and the Sinclair group were pursuing would have allowed these companies to control ABC broadcasts to something like 80% of the American population.
The backlash to the suspension was swift and huge as ordinary citizens exercised their right to cancel their subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu and took to social media to excoriate Disney and ABC in protest. It didn't take long. In total, only four episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! went dark. Now that it is back in business, it is definitely must see TV. If you have not yet watched Kimmel's brilliant monologue last night, you can see it on YouTube. Those whose ABC stations still refused to air the show can see it on YouTube also. So spread the word and the link!
It turns out that Americans do care about our constitutional right to free speech. It's notable that, as Oliver Willis on Daily Kos wrote, "the data from YouTube and online searches are a testament to the eroding ability of gatekeepers like Sinclair and Nexstar to control what people see. People who couldn’t watch Kimmel’s program on Tuesday night—like those served by WJLA, the Sinclair station in the Washington, D.C., market—can watch the entire monologue or clips of it online."
In his recent newsletter, David French wrote: "[Frederick] Douglass argued that free speech, 'of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down.'" French goes on to note that suppressing speech also violates the right of others to hear that speech. "When a mob storms a stage, when a president persecutes the press or when an assassin’s bullet brutally silences a debate, they are violating the rights of the speaker, and they are violating the rights of every other person present and of every other person who may want to hear the speech."
Outrage and purchasing power: these are two instruments most ready to hand for ordinary people like ourselves to wield in the face of tyrannical behavior. Those who have stood up to Trump's bullying have generally won the day. As Paul Krugman explains in his recent newsletter, "some major corporations have already seen the costs of surrendering to Trump. Notably, Target’s decision to appease Trump by ending its commitment to DEI led to a large decline in sales and a falling stock price amid a rising market, and eventually cost the CEO his job. Law firms who have capitulated to Trump have lost clients and partners to law firms that stood up to him. And need we talk about the popularity of Tesla cars and cybertrucks?"
So when companies push back, we should reward them with our praise and with our business. While plenty of universities, law firms, and corporations have been dismantling efforts to be inclusive of people from different cultures and with different abilities, Kohl's (a revered Wisconsin retailer) has not only been steadfast. It is celebrating its commitment by making inclusion the subject of its website's home page. Here's the company's statement:
We are committed to our inclusion & belonging strategy, which is focused on Our People, Our Customers, and Our Community.
Defending our freedoms, our families, and our futures requires vigilance, persistence, and most of all SHOWING UP. The No Kings rallies represent our next important opportunity to display our opposition, to voice our concerns, to band together to stand up to would-be tyranny. I hope you will make the time and the effort. Again, here's where you sign up to attend the rally in Cathedral Park Square on Saturday, October 18. There will be a dedicated area for the physically challenged. So bring your canes, your walkers, and your wheel chairs. But come! And donate if you can.
Of course, there isn't always a rally or march to attend. So here's a lovely example of a small way to participate in the resistance every day: wear a paper clip! Seriously. E. Jean Carroll started the Paper Clip Protest. Joyce Vance wrote about it in her substack "Civil Discourse" a few days ago. As Carroll and Vance explain, paperclips were "worn during World War II as a sign of resistance against the Nazis." It's a symbol of solidarity, "binding them together as paper clips did with papers." I'm planning to wear one every day!
Krugman strikes a hopeful note at the end of his newsletter: "It’s ironic, but thanks in part to a late-night comedian, it’s becoming clear that America is not yet lost." It's truly up to us.
TAKE ACTION
Write postcards to Get Out the Vote for Nov. 4 elections! Postcards to Swing States still have 345,000 postcards left for their News Boosting Postcards in Virginia, which combat right-wing disinformation by sending news headlines directly to voters in Virginia. Sign up now and they'll mail you free postcards within 5-10 days, along with voter lists and instructions with what to write. You're responsible for the Postcard Stamps, which cost $0.61. You will have until Oct 24 to complete the postcards (for all programs).
Use 5 Calls to find issues that are top of your list and make the calls to your congressional representatives. The site provides you with contact information, material about the issue, and a script you can use. It's quick and simple. And as we now know, speaking up and speaking out makes a huge difference.
Sign up for a webinar on the America's mystifying "system" of immigration policy, a joint venture of Grassroots North Shore and Worth Fighting for Wisconsin. The program will take place on Monday, October 13, at 7:00pm on Zoom. Emilio de Torres, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Turners, and Iuscely Flores (Comite Sin Fronteras) will bust open myths surrounding that system and highlights efforts you can join to protect our immigrant friends and neighbors. You can register here.
EVENTS
Thursday, September 24
Our Best Chance to Save Democracy with Heather Cox Richardson, 6:30 - 7:30pm CDT
Virtual
Join Red Wine & Blue to hear from Heather Cox Richardson as we explore how each of us can play a vital role in fighting back against extremism, starting with where we live. You can do your part to bring big wins to your own community, one conversation and one local race at a time. Join Heather and Red Wine & Blue to learn how! Sign up.
Thursday, September 25
Weekly Bridge Brigade in Milwaukee 4:00 - 5:30pm CDT
Lincoln Avenue I-43/94 Overpass
We have a new message every week and people are welcome to come and wave, help us hold upthe letter frames or bring their own signs for the Lincoln Avenue traffic. Join us on Facebook at Bridge Brigade MKE.
Protecting Our Future Climate Protections Under Threat, 5:00 - 6:00pm
Virtual
As climate change accelerates, the protections we rely on to safeguard our air, water, and communities are being rolled back. These changes threaten not just the environment, but our health, jobs, and future generations. Together, we’ll explore the local impacts of weakened environmental safeguards and discuss real solutions that put people and the planet first. Register Here.
Friday, September 26
Weekly Nonviolent Vigil for Those Persecuted by Ice, 9:00 - 10:00am
Milwaukee Ice Office, 310 E Knapp, Milwaukee
Saturday, September 27
Souls to the Polls and All Voting is Local, 8:30 - 10:00am
The Historic Tripoli Shrine Center, 3000 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee
Learn how to fight back against attacks on our community, our legislation and our rights. Join the coalition. Make a difference. Plus a free breakfast. Sign up.
Coffee, Tea & Democracy, 10:00 - 11:00am
Democratic Party of Ozaukee County (Suite 103), 1245 Cheyenne AvenueGrafton
Stop by the Dem office on the last Saturday of every month from 10am - 1pm for this new event!
A: A fun and safe space where ideas will percolate and tea is spilt.
We provide refreshments. You bring yourself, and a friend. See you there!
Tosa Weekly Peaceful Protest, 12:00 - 2:00 pm
corners of 76th and Bluemound and 76th and North
East Castle Saturday Group Protest, 1:00 - 1:30pm
Downer Ave, between Bradford Ave and Lake Drive.
Meet on the east side of the street, Downer Ave, between Bradford Ave and Lake Drive.
Monday, September 29
South WI Indivisible: ABC/Disney Picket, 11:00am - 12:00pm
759 N 19th St, Milwaukee
Jimmy Kimmel Live was indefinitely suspended due to his words spoken about Charlie Kirk and Trump. Like a third-rate mob boss, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair issued a public threat to “take action” against stations airing Jimmy Kimmel for a joke that offended the regime. His actual words: “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.” So ABC and Nexstar cowered and listened to a bully. It’s on us to prove them wrong and show there’s a price to sacrificing our First Amendment rights at the altar of corporate profit.
Please be sure to bring signs, megaphones, bullhorns, props and your voices! Let's let our local WISN-12 station know we won't stand for this and neither should they! This picket is to lift up the people at WISN12 and convince them to pressure Nexstar and ABC to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel! Please join us in uniting our community, not splitting it! Join.
Wednesday, October 1
Brookfield Resist Street Demonstration, 4:30 - 6:00pm
Address upon RSVP
Demonstrate against Trump and his administration. We are demonstrating in Brookfield Wisconsin to let Donald Trump and his administration know that we will never accept the authoritarian takeover of our government, the destruction of essential institutions, programs, healthcare, and social justice reforms, the suppression of free speech, the political vengeance, the extortion, the cruel immigration actions, the incompetence, the arrogance, and the corrupt practices of the president and his family. You will receive an email covering event location and other details after you sign up.Sign up.
Saturday, October 4
Meet and Greet with State Supreme Court Candidate Judge Chris Taylor, 4:30 - 6:00pm
Democratic Party of Ozaukee County (Suite 103), 1245 Cheyenne AvenueGrafton
An informal opportunity to meet our next State Supreme Court Justice.
East Castle Saturday Group Protest, 1:00 - 1:30pm
Downer Ave, between Bradford Ave and Lake Drive.
Meet on the east side of the street, Downer Ave, between Bradford Ave and Lake Drive.
Sunday, October 5
Hands Along Lake Michigan
Join your hands together with your compatriots!
Monday, October 6
South WI Indivisible: ABC/Disney Picket, 11:00am - 12:00pm
759 N 19th St, Milwaukee
Jimmy Kimmel Live was indefinitely suspended due to his words spoken about Charlie Kirk and Trump. Like a third-rate mob boss, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair issued a public threat to “take action” against stations airing Jimmy Kimmel for a joke that offended the regime. His actual words: “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.” So ABC and Nexstar cowered and listened to a bully. It’s on us to prove them wrong and show there’s a price to sacrificing our First Amendment rights at the altar of corporate profit.
Please be sure to bring signs, megaphones, bullhorns, props and your voices! Let's let our local WISN-12 station know we won't stand for this and neither should they! This picket is to lift up the people at WISN12 and convince them to pressure Nexstar and ABC to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel! Please join us in uniting our community, not splitting it!.
Wednesday, October 8
What is in the Big Bill and how could it affect you? 7:00 - 8:00pm CDT
Democratic Party of Ozaukee County (Suite 103), 1245 Cheyenne AvenueGrafton
We are sponsoring a community presentation, "What is in the Big Bill and how could it affect you?," presented by attorney Nick Korger with special guests Deb Andraca and Jodi Habush Sinykin. The event will be held in the Oz Dems office in Grafton. Invite your friends and neighbors.
Thursday, October 9
Weekly Bridge Brigade in Milwaukee 4:00 - 5:30pm CDT
Lincoln Avenue I-43/94 Overpass
We have a new message every week and people are welcome to come and wave, help us hold upthe letter frames or bring their own signs for the Lincoln Avenue traffic. Join us on Facebook at Bridge Brigade MKE.
Monday, October 13
7:00 - 8:30pm CDT
Virtual
Join Grassroots North Shore and Worth Fighting For Wisconsin as we bust open the myths surrounding American immigration policy, highlight efforts to protect our immigrant friends and neighbors, hear from the immigrant community, and learn what WE can do to make things better. Featuring Emilio de Torres, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Turners, and Iuscely Flores (Comite Sin Fronteras). REGISTER NOW.
Learn more about the Milwaukee Turners and about the Comité Sin Fronteras.
Save the Date
Saturday, October 18
No Kings Rally in Oz County, 10:00 - 11:00am
W63N641 Washington Ave, Cedarburg
Truth, integrity, honesty and humility have always been values shared by people from all walks of life in Ozaukee County. And that’s why our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. Please park behind the gym/city hall. Sign up.
No Kings Rally, 11:00 - 2:00pm
Cathedral Square, 520 E Wells St, Milwaukee
In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings. 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. Sign up to attend.
Support the Milwaukee area coalition through our NO KINGS fund, facilitated through Grassroots North Shore. This fund is solely dedicated to putting on NO KINGS coalition events. Our intent is to organize the most impactful, accessible, and safe events feasible. This often requires necessary costs to procure event infrastructure like stages, sound systems, porta-potties, temporary barriers, safety and security equipment, promotion, and other services. Whatever your contribution, we are grateful for your solidarity. Donate.
We need reliable volunteers to help keep our events safe, non-violent, effective, and accessible. We are currently seeking volunteers for the NO KINGS Rally in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday October 18, 2025. Volunteers who join this list may be contacted about this event and future events. Volunteer.
Brookfield Resist: No Kings Rally, 11:00am - 12:30pm
Address upon RSVP
Had enough? Stand with us. Join us in this national day of action on Saturday, October 18th from 11:00am-12:30pm as we protest Trump & his administration. Complete event details will be made known after sign up. Sign up.
No Kings Waukesha, 1:00 - 2:30pm
321 Wisconsin Ave, Waukesha: Sidewalk in front of Cutler Park
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. Sign up.
No Kings West Bend, 1:00 - 2:30pm
Washington County Government Center, 432 E Washington St, West Bend
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. Sign up.
No Kings Shorewood, 2:00 - 3:30pm
North Wilson Drive & Capitol Drive, Shorewood
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. Sign up.
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