‘Arms Locked in Solidarity,’ Markey and Millions Stand Up for What’s Right
A powerful image of the Massachusetts senator reflected the wide embrace of equal rights for all at No Kings Day Rallies, and the determination nationwide to oppose Trump’s attacks on American values.
Protestors flood Boston Common for the No Kings event on Saturday, October 18. (Evan Urquhart)
by Evan Urquhart, Piper Bly, Jane Migliara Brigham, and Alys Brooks
A transgender flag draped around his shoulders, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts denounced the hate being spread by the Trump administration as he spoke to throngs of people at a No Kings Day rally on Saturday. “Here in Massachusetts we stand for what is right. We stand with trans people because trans rights are human rights,” Markey proclaimed, garnering huge cheers from the over 100,000 protestors massed in the Boston Common.
From Boston to Chicago to New York City to Madison and beyond, trans protestors, allies and organizers told our reporters that the Trump administration’s attacks on the transgender community were representative of the most dire threats ever to equal rights and the rule of law in America.
Organized by Indivisible, with partners representing a wide spectrum of progressive groups, an estimated seven million people attended over 2,700 No Kings rallies nationwide, according to news reports. The attendees, who were diverse but skewed white and middle-aged, were unified by their belief that the Trump administration represents an existential threat to American democracy.
In Chicago’s Grant Park, one of the sponsoring organizations was Equality Illinois, a longstanding pillar of LGBTQ+ activism in the state. Incoming CEO Channyn Lynne Parker spoke to reporters about the need for solidarity among diverse communities, and the emotional, mental and physical impact of the Trump administration’s all-out assault on the trans community in recent months.
Channyn Lynne Parker of Equality Illinois at the Chicago No Kings event. (Piper Bly)
“Our hard-won rights that we fought so hard for in the past years and beyond are being threatened to be dismantled,” Parker said. “But unlike the times before, we have the taste of freedom in our mouths, and we’re not going to easily let that go. No way in hell.”
Large outdoor protests like No Kings have become characterized in recent years by the quirky individuality of the attendees' costumes, outfits and signs, and this Saturday was no exception. Dotted among Donald Trump masks, inflatable animal costumes and signs calling for the end to genocide in Gaza and the dismantlement of ICE, were the pink, white and blue trans pride flags, and, even more frequently, the multi-spectrum progress flags.
“This is the America that they’re afraid of,” Parker told reporters. “An America that is deeply rooted and locked arms in solidarity. That’s what they’re afraid of.”
Robin Erickson shows off an inflatable skeletal rainbow unicorn rider costume at the No Kings rally in Chicago. (Piper Bly)
This spirit of solidarity was reflected in attendees who carried trans and LGBTQ+ flags in unity with the trans community. Several said they had brought the flags because they recognized the danger to a minority community that has been among the most cruelly targeted by Trump. These allies were not only in the largest cities, but in small and medium sized rallies, such as the one in Madison, Wisconsin, where over 10,000 protestors marched a mile route from McPike Park to the capitol.
“I’m a member of the LGBT community myself,” said Michael Bergemann. “I work in community mental services. A huge number of my clients are transgender, specifically trans youth, that are really scared and struggling to make sure they have access to the healthcare they need.”
Michael Bergemann stands in front of crowd at McPike Park during the Madison No Kings event. (Alys Brooks)
Other allies told reporters that their loved ones had been personally affected by the anti-trans efforts of the regime. One such protestor was Peter MacDougall of Cambridge, Mass. The father of a nonbinary 15-year-old, MacDougall said his child was among those to have lost access to transition care at Fenway Health. “I’m carrying this flag to support my trans kid,” MacDougall said. “This flag represents the diversity that makes this country great.”
Peter MacDougall and his partner at the Boston No Kings event. (Evan Urquhart)
An LGBTQ+ focused clinic, Fenway recently ended care for youth and young adults through age 19. The Trump administration has threatened funding for clinics that continue to provide such care.
In New York City, which drew a crowd organizers estimated at over 300,000 strong, Assigned Media spoke to a group of trans youths who’d personally felt the chilling effect of rising intolerance fostered by Trump.
Three young trans protestors at the New York No Kings event. (Jane Migliara Brigham)
“I've had so many friends scared to talk about being trans and gay in public because of how dangerous it is now with everything going on,” said one protester, 14, who like the others did not share their name. “They're using fear to stop us from speaking out about this. But I'm proudly trans, I have been for years. It's just not fair that we have to hide who we are.”
“I hate Donald Trump. I hated Donald Trump since 2016, when I was 8,” said another. “I'm here repping the trans community, and I'm here just to fight for rights for all. That's what I care about.”
A protestor in the crowd of the New York City No Kings Event. (Jane Migliara Brigham)
Rallies varied greatly in size and composition across the U.S. In Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago, the hundreds gathered included a giant inflatable chicken, and their own local contingent of LGBTQ+ protestors, an organizer whose child was non-binary, and a small group of older cis women carrying trans pride flags.
“It’s unfortunate that we are in an environment where people don’t feel welcome,” Indivisible organizer Ishaan Srivastava told Assigned Media. “Members of the queer community, and trans folks specifically, everyone is welcome and we want you there.”
Ishaan Srivastava at the No Kings event in Arlington Heights, IL. (Piper Bly)
Back in Boston, Laura Rotolo of ACLU Massachusetts stressed the connections between the group’s advocacy for trans rights and the broader struggle for civil liberties.
“One of the first official things the Trump administration did was to deny passports to people with an X marker, and we went to court in Massachusetts to fight for those rights,” she said. “It’s all part of a unified fight, a fight for freedom of speech, religious freedom, immigrants rights, everyone’s rights are under attack today.”
Evan Urquhart is the founder of Assigned Media.
Piper Bly is a professional illustrator and underground cartoonist. When she’s not busy plowing away at her drawing board, singing dirges in the moonlight, or wandering throughout the United States, she can often be found tending to her ivies, frying up some biscuits, spending unreasonable hours in the gym, or floating above the Mississippi River at midnight, waiting for the tide to wrap her in its loving embrace and take her away. Her whereabouts are currently undisclosed.
Jane Migliara Brigham is a recent graduate with a master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. Her debut book “The Transsexual Nation” is expected to be released in 2026. You can follow her on Bluesky at @janethebane.meangirls.online
Alys Brooks is a writer, editor and tutor who has written about reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ issues, voting, and other public policy topics. She is a member of the Trans Journalists Association and lives in a housing co-operative in Madison, Wis., with her cat, Jax.