.Collective Action

In the liberal Santa Cruz there is despair in the air as the current Washington administration attempts to enact changes to American life, following the Project 2025 playbook. But individuals are starting to push back, finding like-minded Americans through the website Indivisible.org.

As part of what is hoped to be the largest day of national protest against Donald Trump in his second term, Indivisible Santa Cruz County has organized a short rally at 10am this Saturday at Upper San Lorenzo Park (Duck Pond Stage) to start a march from the park at Dakota Avenue to the Santa Cruz County Building. It’s part of a countrywide protest called “No Kings” and intends to shine light on the current administration’s crackdown on free speech, detention of people for political views, illegal deportation of American citizens, defiance of courts, and the gutting of the governmental fabric that underpins our civilization.

Indivisible is a grassroots organization created after the 2016 election by ex-congressional staffers and husband-and-wife team Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin. There are more than 1,200 chapters across the country with millions of members who want to effect policy change and apply pressure to elected officials. Among the actions were the April 19 Hands Off! rallies, one of which I attended in Bakersfield. “If we are physically attacked, we don’t fight back,” said protester Peter Mandel at that rally. “We record it on camera, and we win the day.”

Core Principle: Nonviolent Action

In the wake of Trump’s almost unprecedented use of the National Guard to push back against protesters in Los Angeles this past weekend, Indivisible Santa Cruz County is making it clear that protests must be nonviolent: “A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action,” its mission states. “We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.”

The route for the march to the county building is mainly on flat ground, over sidewalks, and there will be accessible restrooms. Check out nokings.org for more information.

Carol Isberg, an active participant in Indivisible Santa Cruz County, is one of the thousands of men and women who have carried signs on streets to protest the autocratic takeover of our government. Isberg says, “My country is being ripped out from under me. We all believe in American ideals, that everyone is created equal. It is what we know America is capable of. Life is not a zero-sum game. The word ‘patriotism’ has been taken away from the American ideal.”

One of Carol’s favorite sayings is, “If Hillary had won, we’d all be at brunch now.” Brunch is what Carol says she and her pals would rather be doing, but from 10am to noon on June 14 they will be meeting at the Duck Pond to organize, march and protest.

Size Matters

Lifting spirits of the anguished is one thing, but do protests really move the needle? 

Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, is quoted by the BBC: “If your theory of winning against the authoritarians is mass peaceful protest, what’s the first word? Mass. It’s got to be big.”

Based on research by political scientists Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan, if 3.5 percent of the population shows up to demonstrate, the national discourse changes immediately. The Chenoweth/Stephan research finds this is particularly true for nonviolent demonstrations, which are more than twice as effective as those involving physical conflict. Chenoweth told BBC correspondent David Robson that once around 3.5 percent of the whole population has begun to participate actively, success appears to be inevitable.

Why do Santa Cruzans want to protest?

They all have personal reasons for protesting. Each feels a visceral impact on the lives of people close to them, sometimes their own lives. Indivisible’s Carol Isberg says, “This is the first time in my life that the national values are under existential threat. The only way to stop this is for people to stand up and say no.” Isberg believes that protest is the only tool available to her.

Indivisible’s Sandy Silver says, “I got started protesting when I was pregnant. While sitting in my gynecologist’s office I read a poster on the wall that said nuclear testing has produced radioactivity that is found in breastmilk. My breastmilk. That’s when I started protesting.”

‘It Lifts My Spirits’

I spoke with a Cabrillo college student as he painted a sign for Saturday’s rally that says, “My Tesla Self-Identifies as a Subaru.” I ask why he protests. “I find that it is just a fun time to meet so many people who empathize with my outrage. I like the feeling that we gather with all these people, thousands, to connect with our vision, our sanity. It lifts my spirits and I need that now. This cannot go on. My presence may be a drop in the bucket, but this is the bucket we must carry now, together.”

For details about the Saturday, June 14 No Kings protest, go to indivisiblesantacruzcounty.com.

The weekend offers other chances to gather for activism, including a Dangerous Neighbors sketch comedy show at the Actors’ Theatre in Santa Cruz called Deflating Fascism. A benefit for Indivisible Santa Cruz, the show will run June 13-14 and 20-21. For info, visit santacruzactorstheatre.org.

June 14 will also mark the 34th Santa Cruz Juneteenth Celebration of Black Liberation and Freedom at Laurel Park, 440 Washington St., from noon to 5pm, with music, poetry, dance, food and the spirit of freedom For info, visit santacruzjuneteenth.com.