Note: Part 2 of 2. See Part 1 here. Read a ‘No Kings’ Letter to the People by Sara Rivers. For the sake of safety, I use only the first names of speakers.

LENOIR, N.C. – “We’re sick of it!” With her words booming through the microphone, that is how Dinell concluded her speech at the No Kings rally held here on Saturday, March 28. Earlier she asked, “What brought us here?” She was just one of many speakers that asked those questions. Issues addressed included economic justice, healthcare justice, immigration rights, voting rights, the cost of living, civil rights and more. She was one of about a dozen speakers, a choir, local musicians, a poet and an audience of 200 or more.

Dinell proclaimed her opposition to the war against Iran, the cost of living, in particularly caused by the war, the curious disappearance of the Epstein Files from news coverage, and the breakdown of the Rule of Law. Another speaker told of ICE “Making a person disappear,” a chilling example of man’s inhumanity to man. A pastor who spoke said, “Remember Micah 6:8 – ‘And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’”

One of my first thoughts as the audience filled the corner square in downtown was that the gathering – here and across the nation – was, indeed, a 21^st century Constitutional Convention. Here, 250 years after the Declaration of Independence changed world history, Americans rose up to say, “We hold these truths to be self evident …”

I am not surprised. This is what I expected. As I observed in this analysis following last year’s No Kings rally, “If past is prologue, then Lenoir will play a key role in our modern anti-king, anti-authoritarian resistance movement as its namesake – General William Lenoir – did in the Revolutionary War.” What rings true are these words from the Declaration of Independence: “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of those ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government …”

The speakers did as the Declaration of Independence declares, “To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” The many speakers after her did just that, interspersed with singing.

An audience member, who arrived with a friend and a sign about two hours early offered, “We just have to get our country back!” Jeff and Pam traveled from Winston-Salem to support one of the speakers and singers from their church. That choir and local musicians reminded the audience that music is the language of peace. Old protest songs and classic hymns were also sung. The event, which began with the National Anthem, ended with a sing-along of several musicians and the audience, led by a local musician.

Indivisible Caldwell County, a committee of people from Caldwell County and beyond scheduled the gathering, which lasted two hours.

© Michael M. Barrick, 2026

The People Speak