200,000 People Attend No Kings Twin Cities: The World is With Us!

No Kings Twin Cities was the flagship event for No Kings 3 and the local No Kings Coalition was proud to work with national to shine a light on how Minnesota successfully thwarted Operation Surge as well as benefit from some national connections. We were thrilled to have 200,000 join us in St Paul. (We’re tallying results around the state. In fact, please let us know if you marched elsewhere and have an estimate of attendees.)

The event began in four places: the kickoff locations (Harriet Island, St Paul College, Western Sculpture Park )and the Minnesota State Capitol. Programs began at the kickoff locations at 11am, featuring local musicians, speakers and local heroes. Around noon, each location began the joyous march to the Capitol. At the Capitol, we watched through livestreams on large screens – cheering as people crossed bridges, held signs, chanted, followed large puppets, played bagpipes.

At 1pm, a pre-program of local music and speakers began at the Capitol emceed by Daily Show (and Abortion Access Front Founder), Liz Winstead. We showcased:

• Borealis, dynamic tenor-bass chamber ensemble from the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus

• Kashimana and Thomasina Petrus, responding in song to what our community needs and what the world needs to hear

• Secret Rivers, featuring fiery vocals of slam poetry champion Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre and live production wizardry of SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE 

• Venus deMars, a trans-glam-punk-rock musician who has paved the way for so many with her amazing voice and courage

•  Larry Long with Thomasina Petrus, African American gospel singer meets a true American troubadour with shared passion and love for their community

• Dorene Day Waubanewquay, traditional healer, singer, and member of the Ojibwe Nation

• Heid Erdrich, Ojibwe artist and Minneapolis’ first poet laureate

At 2pm, the main event began with marchers still arriving from the kickoff location, the sun getting a little warmer and the crowd feeling the community. The program included:

• Joan Baez, singer and activist

• Minister JaNaé Bates, ISAIAH, and multifaith leaders 

• Nick Benson, flight data activist, MN50501  

• Katie Bethell, MoveOn Civic Action 

• MN State Representative Shelley Buck

• Malika Dahir, Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment

• Natalie Ehret, Haven Watch 

• Attorney General Keith Ellison

• Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan 

• Jane Fonda, actor and activist 

• Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, Indivisible

• Saint Paul Mayor Kaohly Her

• Deepender Singh Mayell, MN-ACLU

• Congresswoman Ilhan Omar

• Carolina Ortiz, COPAL 

• Sarah Parker, Voices of Florida Project and 50501

• Maggie Rogers, singer-songwriter and activist

• Senator Bernie Sanders

• AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler

• SEIU President April Verrett

• Governor Tim Walz

• American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten

• Robert Weissman, Public Citizen 

• Emcee Ash Woodard-Henderson

Everyone will have their personal favorite moments. Lots of people will say Bruce Springsteen singing Minneapolis. For me, it was the advice from 50501's Nick Benson, aviator data activity spoke to the Minnesota ethos of heroes, "It's not that hard, you just have to do it. A challenge we have for you is to share your favorite story from No Kings Twin Cities, the event down the road from you, what you saw online or how you personally celebrated. You can share on our Facebook Page or talk about it with your friends. Just share the stories to keep the momentum going.

In the meantime, enjoy the pictures below from Langen Goldstien, while we work on processing a lot of videos to share soon.