‘You are not alone’
On Saturday, Hands Off Texas and associated organizers coordinated the second major No Kings rally at Auditorium Shores, after a rally in June drew over 20,000. The event was organized in response to perceived abuses by the Trump administration, primarily recent ICE raids in U.S. cities and mid-decade Congressional redistricting in Texas. The latter created five new Republican districts before being challenged in federal court by minority voters who allege that the state legislature engaged in racial gerrymandering, which is unconstitutional per Shaw v. Reno, a 1993 Supreme Court case.
The event began at the Capitol, featuring speeches from Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-49,) who announced her candidacy on Oct. 15 for governor, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-37,) and numerous activists, such as Melody Tremallo, a trans and labor rights advocate.
Protesters then marched from the Capitol to Auditorium Shores, chanting the slogan “this is what democracy looks like.” Many also bore signs with the phrase “sic semper tyrannus,” which translates to “thus always to tyrants” in Latin and dates back to the founding of the Roman Republic in 509 BC.
After reaching Auditorium Shores, folk singers delivered a performance of “This Land Is Your Land.” Apache activist and veteran Fox Redsky led the crowd in a prayer to Pachamama, an indigenous Mother Earth figure originating from Andean beliefs. A range of speakers followed, such as former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, former member of the Sumud Global Flotilla and pro-Palestinian activist Greg Stoker, 2026 congressional candidate Dan Weber, and vice president of Justice and Advocacy for the Austin Area Urban League, Yasmine Smith.
According to Smith, her impetuses for speaking at the rally were her experiences with systemic discrimination and her fight for justice as a community advocate.
“I’m a born and raised Austinite,” Smith said. “I’m a black woman in America. I come from slaves who became sharecroppers. Some of my family still lives on the land that we sharecropped on. So with that experience and with my generational understanding of oppression, I think it’s necessary with everything that my ancestors have done and those that have put together the revolution thus far. It’s incumbent on me to show up and be prepared, to keep fighting the good fight.”
Smith also spoke on the importance of using one’s voice to fight for what one believes in and to conserve one’s energy for strategic civil disobedience.
“Not all of us have the bandwidth to be able to speak truth to power,” Smith said. “It’s rare to be able to inspire, to be able to communicate with others in a way that allows us to see each other as humans and see those that may not see us as humans as still humans.”
Smith began her speech with a brief rendition of “Wade in the Water,” an African American spiritual associated with freedom fighters on the Underground Railroad. During her speech, she spoke against the tokenization of marginalized voices while urging communities to come together and overcome factionalism.
“I am tired of bleeding out for external consumption,” Smith said. “I am tired of saying the same things over, and over again, and I am not alone. You feel it too. Because you feel it too, know that you are not alone. Despite what the autocrats and pretend-kings would have you think, you are not alone.”
Like Smith, McCallum senior Elise Garza also believes her rights are being threatened by the current administration and consequently uses her voice through activism. Garza attended the No Kings protest in June, and also advocates for carceral literacy.
“I volunteer with the Inside Books Project, which is a nonprofit that sends free reading materials to people who are incarcerated,” Garza said. “They write letters, talking about whatever they want. Sometimes they write personal letters.”
For Garza, it’s an opportunity to build bridges between communities, and to demystify the nature of mass incarceration.
“I think it’s really special because it provides a connection to the outside world,” Garza said. “It affirms their dignity and humanity and they’re able to educate themselves through the resources we provide.”
Garza hopes that the rally will encourage more civic engagement among Austinites.
“I hope that people who were maybe reluctant to come out, weren’t sure about the turnout or if it would be safe, will see this and see what a safe, fun, uplifting experience it is,” Garza said. “Maybe then they’ll be encouraged to use their voice and exercise their right to assembly another time a protest comes up about something they’re passionate about.”
McCallum sophomore Hazel Wiggin was also inspired to come out to the No Kings rally because of her past No Kings experiences.
“I went to the rally in June and it was amazing,” Wiggin said.
The Trump administration’s stance on immigration also heavily affected Wiggin’s decision to protest.
“Being a woman in Texas with a Mexican family presents lots of social issues that I really care about,” Wiggin said.
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