Millions joined the ‘No Kings’ protest, but the absence of Black women’s voices raises critical questions about inclusivity and democracy.
Articulated Insight – “News, Race and Culture in the Information Age”
On October 18, 2025 an estimated 7 million people participated in 2,700 organized events across America known as the “No Kings” protest. It was widely viewed as one of the largest protests in American history. Protesters expressed their opposition to the political tactics of the Trump administration, which many view as authoritarian. Republican leaders responded by calling it the “Hate America” rally.
President Trump said on Fox News the day before the organized protests, “They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.” Later that evening, Trump hosted a $1M per plate super PAC fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. So while millions were preparing to express their disapproval of the Trump administration on Saturday, on Friday evening rich Republican donors were handing over $1M each to participate in a dinner with Trump at his home golf resort in Florida. Republican Party leaders openly lambasted the protesters.
“From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders disparaged the rallygoers as “communists” and “Marxists.”
DISCONNECTED DISCOURSE
The labels of “Marxist” and “Communist” were also ascribed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his supporters throughout the 1950s and 1960s by White conservatives upset about the revolutionary protest movement King was leading. Ironically, they didn’t like the most famous King that America has ever known. And today, millions across America are protesting the leader of the vast majority of White Christian conservative America, whose king-like tactics are being denounced by the “No Kings” protest.
Clearly, there is disconnected discourse about democracy and the vision for America that’s driving Americans toward divergent camps of conversations. White women at many rallies were expressing their discontent with the Trump administration across a variety of issues.
In Houston, where the population is 2.3 million and majority minority (44% Hispanic, 24% White, 22% Black and 6% Asian), the overwhelming demographics of “No Kings” protesters were White.
The voluminous protests across the country, largely comprised of White women (largest political voting bloc in America), featured whimsical costumes (including many frogs and even a dinosaur!), clever signage and t-shirts and a potpourri of reasons why White women participated in the protests. (See video)
The protests were overwhelmingly peaceful and patriotic, a note that media reiterated repeatedly. The main theme centered on protecting America and democracy from tyrannical rule.
Another irony is that while millions of White women turned out at the “No Kings” protests this past weekend, and the previous one this past summer (and the Women’s March in 2017 right after Trump was elected), the majority of White women voters (53%) consistently voted in favor of Trump in 2016, 2020 and the 2024 election. And that trend remains consistent in the polling today. The Conversation on Oct. 13 published an article titled, “Who are the women supporting Trump?” Here’s an excerpt:
So, who are those women voters that Trump appeals to? The short answer is white women, or at least, some of them. With a couple of election exceptions (1964, 1996) white women tend to prefer Republican candidates over Democrats. They maintained this trend with Donald Trump.
Trumpism and the Maga movement doesn’t tend to appeal to many college-educated white women. However, religion is a factor.
Born-again or Evangelical believers who tend to be committed to the idea of the traditional family where the man goes to work and the woman stays at home and looks after the children have proved essential to Trump’s support in 2024. Eight in ten (80%) voters who identified as [White] Christian cast their ballots for the Trump/Vance ticket, up from 71% in 2020.
Women in this group may be more likely to appreciate the Trump administration’s attempts to encourage and support women to have more children. Trump’s proposed “National Medal of Motherhood” would create financial incentives for women to have large families. Women with six or more children may be eligible.
But across the collective landscape of protesters nationwide, one significant voice was conspicuously missing: Black women.
#NoKingsProtest #BlackWomenMatter #DemocracyInAction
