LEWISBURG W.Va. (WVDN) – On Saturday, March 28, over 1,000 residents of the Greenbrier Valley gathered at the Lewisburg Greenspace for the third No Kings Rally. The event combined a community rally with a collection of money and food to support the local food pantry and TSA workers currently working without pay.
Organized by the Greenbrier County Democratic Women’s Club and Greenbrier Indivisible, the event was one of 3,300 rallies across the country and in every state. The rally served to affirm “that America’s democracy rests with its people, not with any single leader,” according to event organizers.
The event started with a performance by the “No Nuke Ukes.” Guest speakers included Amy Jo Hutchinson, an anti-poverty and childcare activist; Zach Drennen, pastor of St. James Episcopal Church; and Roger Vannoy from Greenbrier Indivisible. The rally included a march up and down Washington Street. Attendees held up handmade signs and American Flags.
The local NAACP and the ACLU were present at the rally. The local NAACP provided voter registration materials, and the ACLU provided information on First Amendment rights.
Organizers stated, “When our families are under attack, and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. We came together peacefully to protest this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence. America does not belong to strongmen, billionaires, or those who rule through fear. It belongs to us, the people.
“The peaceful gathering served as both a reminder and a celebration that our freedoms were secured through generations of civic engagement, and that they remain strongest when we practice them together. At the end of the day, we’re all neighbors, no matter how much we may disagree, and events like this are about building community as much as they are about raising our voices.”
