No Kings, 18 October 2025. AL.com: ‘No Kings’ protest draws large crowd in Birmingham, Whites-Koditschek 2025. [New Equipment]
It may be tomorrow’s history. It may be a blip that disappears. This was what it was at this moment in time.
Older than I expected.
Whiter than I expected.
More American flags than I expected.
Many, many clever signs.
The majority of the signs were of the American History, Fighting Tyranny since 1776, variety.
Some signs were directed to the current incumbent.
Not NY or Chicago crowds, but more than I expected from Birmingham.
I overprepared. I deliberately chose mild, harmless clothing. I took my ID, left my wallet at home, and left my phone in the truck.
A blue protest hits different in a red state.
The speakers ran on. Addressing a crowd is like coaching in the warm up ring. Not the place for extensive theory.
Warm-up ring: Go you. Sit up. Good job.
Crowd: Go you. Action item! Good job.
One dude had a scarf over his face à la ICE, yet he was was wearing rally assistance safety vest. A statement was certainly being made, but I was unable to decipher it.
The scariest person there was a woman walking around with a large QR code on a sign, asking if people had “registered.” She would stop to let folks take a photo. There were no identifying marks on the sign or on her person. No mention of what group she was with. Yeah, right. I’m going to scan a random QR code. I think not.
My biggest danger was being under-prepared for sitting in the sun. Faint and swimmy-headed after. Tried to fix it with real food. Coke & salty potato chips were the answer.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
Potato chips are always the answer. Thank you for showing up!
It was weird. I guess it was the salt?