No Kings March – En Fort Worth, Texas

By A. Govea — alberto@holatexas.us

This was my third No Kings March, and to be honest, I didn’t really feel like going. I had two or three perfectly acceptable excuses — the kind that, under normal circumstances, would have kept me home.

Pero estos no son tiempos normales. Far from it. Even at my age — old — I’ve never seen anything quite like this. We have a war. We have immigration enforcement that kills people and locks up children. And those are just the lowlights. Gas prices, food prices — everything is squeezing our families, and it’s only getting worse.

And then there’s the Commander in Chief, who reportedly falls asleep during crucial cabinet meetings. It reminded me of a sign I saw at the protest: “I’ve seen better cabinets at IKEA.”

No, señor y señoritas, these are not normal times. And if we don’t protest what is happening right in front of our eyes, then we are silently saying we accept it. Inaction is an action — and a choice.

That brings me to something I can’t ignore: the lack of Raza at these marches. The crowd is overwhelmingly white, and at least 40% of the folks are 60 or older. It makes me wonder why.

I don’t pretend to know everything, but in my 70-plus years on this earth, I’ve learned a few things. Primero: White folks, more than any other group, seem to have public protest in their DNA. And many have not experienced the kind of police brutality that minority communities have faced. Not that it never happens to them.

As for the older crowd, I have thoughts también. They lived through moments when protest changed history: the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and more. They know it works. And like me, they don’t want to be part of the generation that loses democracy for their children and grandchildren.

As for the Raza who were there, it lifted my spirits to see young Latinos — and even more Latinas — showing up. And as always, I was glad to see my friends from the Sí Se Puede Committee of Tarrant County, formally the Cesar Chavez y Dolores Huerta Committee. Their presence at the No Kings Rally keeps alive the spirit of the UFW Movement.

We all know what has recently come out about Cesar Chavez, but that does not erase the work or legacy of the Farm Workers Union. Farmworkers continue to put food on our tables every single day. We must continue to honor them — and the union that protects their ability to keep feeding our families.

Just like we don’t stop celebrating the Fourth of July because of the behavior of the so‑called forefathers — many of whom were guilty of far worse — even though most people prefer to quietly forget that part of history.

And to those on the other side who claimed this was a “We Hate America March,” let me be clear: the opposite is true. Whether you agree with our actions or not, this is part of our rights as Americans — and, in my view, part of our duty.