“The spirit of Philadelphia is the spirit of America.” –Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), speaking at “No Kings” Philadelphia
In a city steeped in revolutionary past, the symbolism of Flag Day (June 14th) was central to the message of “No Kings”—a national celebration of American ideals reframed as a demand to defend them.
LOVE Park to the Parkway: A march with a message
On a Saturday afternoon as military hardware assembled in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, as many as 80,000 protesters gathered at LOVE Park for Philadelphia’s No Kings demonstration. Philadelphia served as a flagship location among several hundred coordinated sites across the country serving as a nationwide day of action strategically timed with Flag Day and Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
With the entire length of Ben Franklin Parkway from 18th Street to Eakins Oval closed to traffic, demonstrators marched up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Protesters passed by familiar city landmarks and monuments holding signs that referenced authoritarianism, executive overreach and the President’s $45 million military parade, which “No Kings” organizers described as a complete waste of public funds while public services like food aid and Medicaid face cuts.
Framing these cuts as a bipartisan and, more importantly, a humanitarian issue, “No Kings” speaker Bishop William J. Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, invoked the importance of protecting our healthcare system and social safety nets: “These are not liberal or conservative values, but moral ones.”
Grassroots over grandstanding
The “No Kings” initiative emerged from a coalition of several advocacy groups, including Indivisible, MoveOn, and the 50501 Movement. “No Kings” was founded to coordinate actions in 50 states. Organizers stated that the protest was intended to sharply contrast with the presidential power display on a nationally symbolic day.
Protesters aimed to reclaim the symbolism of Flag Day with a message of grassroots democracy in the city where the first American flag was sewn.
Although no protests were planned in D.C. under the “No Kings” banner, this deliberate absence and the resulting visual contrast were part of the organizer’s goal: building decentralized, peaceful protest events across the country in places like Philadelphia to create a contrasting narrative without direct confrontation.
“Commit yourself to nonviolence, not only as a strategy, but as a way of life,” Martin Luther King III implored the crowd at the Philadelphia “No Kings” rally.
Nonviolence is a cornerstone of the “No Kings” movement, with organizers making clear that all demonstrations were to remain peaceful and lawful. The campaign calls for de-escalation in the face of conflict, emphasizing collective action as a show of public resistance, not as a platform for confrontation.
“Nonviolence is the sword that heals. It is the weapon of the strong,” King encouraged the crowd. As of Saturday night, the police reported no arrests related to the protest.
More than a day: The long thread of protest in Philadelphia
The march came together at the steps of the Art Museum — a familiar rallying point in local activism. In the City of Neighborhoods where streets are named after revolutionaries, protest here is part of its long history of civic life.
Organizers emphasized that the protest was about more than a single day. In Philly and beyond, the “No Kings” campaign boasts a broader appeal for civic participation, democratic accountability, and sustained local engagement.
“Philadelphia is a tough and loving city,” Representative Jamie Raskin reminded the crowd, “and you know how to topple kings here.”
What have we got? The question on the ground
An old city with sharp memories, where democracy was drafted and redrafted, protest remains as local as pretzels and parades, but is never taken for granted. Protests remain powerful, and more importantly, possible. Even in the rain, thousands of people showed up to march together.
The unique and unprecedented pursuit of active self-government — the “American Experiment,” first imagined in Philadelphia, was a radical departure from monarchy.
After the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Elizabeth Willing Powel supposedly queried Benjamin Franklin: “Doctor, what have we got — a republic or a monarchy?”
Franklin reportedly replied: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Can democracy based on the ideals founded 250 years ago remain resilient and relevant in a country increasingly marked by deepening divisions and indifference?
This may be a defining question of the American experience today.
Take a tour of on-the-ground scenes from Philadelphia’s June 14th “No Kings” protest.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
