Importance of communication highlighted during third No Kings Rally in Lawton

The third No Kings protest took place on March 28. Hundreds of people from the Lawton community gathered at Shelper Park to take advantage of their first amendment right and voice their concerns from topics relating to the state of the entire country down to individual neighborhood issues. Organizers of the event shared the packed list of speakers that would be present at the rally. Some of the most notable presenters include: Author and Activist Sean Cummings, Immigration Attorney Lorena Rivas and Southwest Regional Organizer for OK Policy Institute Alex Good.

Dark Roast was able to speak with Good after his presentation, specifically relating to House Bill 4440. According to Good, this bill would remove Sooner Care from the Oklahoma Constitution and place it under state law. This would give lawmakers and government officials more control over Sooner Care expansion. Another thing Good noted was the fact that this is the third No Kings protest and the people in attendance are still talking about the same issues.

”We’re still hearing about these problems for several years. You know, these aren’t new problems,” Good said. “There’s a bunch of people here. That’s a good sign that people are communicating.”

Good put a lot of emphasis on the importance of communication and reaching out to state officials to encourage change. However, as previously mentioned, with the community members in attendance sharing the same concerns they have been for the past two rallies it raises the question to whether the communication has been effective at all. He goes on to give advice to those looking to make a change.

”There are a number of problems that folks are dealing with. I think right now there’s a million problems everywhere happening all at once and people are trying to figure out how to get plugged in,” Good explained. “I think folks need to take a step back and focus on what the one problem is that they need to do and how they can take action.”

One concern that many of the speakers and protestors at the event spoke to is the increasing level of division seen across the country. The division can be observed in several ways, but most prominently between the democratic and republican party. While differences are to be expected, many of those present at Saturday’s No Kings protest believe the only way for the current state of the nation to improve is for all people – from both parties – to come together and fight for it.

Gudrun Tendall was one person in attendance at the event, adorned with an American flag and a sign reading, “Power to the people! No war! We are a country of immigrants! Ice out!” Even needing a walker, Tendall made a point to show up to the event and make her voice heard. She explained that she’s frustrated that the three branches of government seem to have dissipated in the current state of things. She also expressed frustration over what she described as corruption within the government, explaining that everyone at that level is behaving as if they’re above the law. 

“I’m tired of the mess. I want my country back. I immigrated here sixty years ago and everything was beautiful and it’s not anymore,” Tendall said.

She said she’s been living in Lawton since 1994, when her husband retired. She said she believes attending events like the No Kings protest are important because a lot of people are concerned but don’t know what to do. She believes such events give people a platform to share their voice and find a sense of community in times of division.

“We are the people. We are strong as people – and that’s showing everywhere,” Tendall said. “I hope we can learn to be a little more in the middle – not the extreme left or the extreme right. We need to work together. Opposition is okay, but we need to learn to live with each other and accept differences and live with it and find a solution that’s good for both of us.”

Trace Ashely, another person whose family immigrated to America, was in attendance. Ashley was one of the people that Dark Roast asked to do an interview while going around looking for participants to speak with. While they originally declined, they came back around and said they wanted to speak out.

”I don’t talk much because I know I’m not great with words, but I have enough people in my life, in so many different groups that I feel pain for,” Ashley explained.

Ashley’s heritage is Mexican-American and they explained that both of their parents served in the military, but with recent events they’ve had to watch their parents cry over the events covered in the news.

”My stepfather, who raised me, retired from it after twenty something years,” Ashley said. “He watched this, but he still puts the flag out every morning. He’s so proud of this, but it hurts his heart because this is what he fought for.”

Even the youth showed up with the simple goal of making their voices heard. One Lawton high school student who asked to be referred to as Lexi is just 15 years old and feels she has no choice but to get involved in activism. She said she’s been able to implement what she’s learned in school to do research and find reliable sources to form her opinions and be informed on what’s happening in the country. 

However, she explained that she feels anxious about her ability to continue doing that because she’s seeing more and more things being censored and information being withheld to protect government officials. She said it was Trump’s discussion around banning TikTok at the beginning of 2025 that piqued her interest in understanding censorship. She compared the state of the country and the use of censorship to the Hunger Games book series.

“The U.S. Constitution has been violated. The Constitution is what the American government is made of – for our politicians to go completely against it was something that made me want to speak out,” Lexi said.

She also spoke about Project 2025 and how the points it prioritizes makes her feel unsafe. Lexi was one of the organizers of the student walk outs that took place in Lawton. She said that even though she’s a child, she still has a voice and wants to express that what is going on in the country makes her feel concerned – scared even – for her future. She said she’s afraid that if things continue as they are, she won’t get the opportunity to go to college or pursue the career that she dreams of.

“The United States of America is not united at all. If we can’t get enough adults to open their eyes before it’s too late, there may not be a way for us to turn the tides by the time my generation turns eighteen,” Lexi said. “This isn’t the nineteen fifties, We’re humans – we’re all humans. We all bleed blood. You’re just a person at the end of the day.”

Lexi explained that she hopes more kids her age will gain the courage to stand up for what they believe. She explained that it’s a confusing time to be a kid because she feels kids are brought up to be kind to others but watch adults all around them not upholding those morals. Further, she said kids are told to speak up if they need something or are upset, but when they voice their concerns about how things are, they’re told to know their place because they’re just kids. 

“As a child, being able to see what’s wrong while being surrounded by adults that can’t see what is wrong is sad and fear-invoking because I feel like there’s no hope if [Trump] doesn’t get taken out of office,” Lexi said. 

LaShaila Gates is a Christian who was at Shepler Park participating in the rally. Gates stood at the edge of the park near the road with a sign stating ‘Make Christians Great Again’. According to Gates, Christianity has been used as a tool to push certain political agendas.

“It’s tough to witness because it’s almost like people are being turned off of Christianity from the way it’s represented,” Gates said. “I just think it’s really unfortunate when people are being so ugly to other people and use Christianity as a shield.”

The on-going conversation over immigration and ICE was one of the points of concern Gates had. She explained that Christianity calls for people to not fall into worldly views and man-made things.

“To me, a border is very worldly, very man-made,” Gates added. “There is no border. We’re all brothers and sisters in Christ.”

One theme that was shared throughout everyone who was a designated speaker and chose to speak with Dark Roast was loving your neighbor. Event organizers, like Good, encouraged people to reach out to their local representatives to create lines of communication. While there is no confirmation on whether another protest will take place, everyone in attendance agreed that it takes coming together to make a difference.