🌬️ Opening Reflection: A Declaration, Not a Destination
The No Kings March was never meant to be the arrival point, it was a beginning.It was a collective exhale that said: no more crowns, no more thrones, no more hierarchy in the name of liberation.
But as I shared in our live gathering, we have to remember that visibility is not victory. Marching gets the attention, but maintenance builds the movement.
So when critiques come from the Black and Indigenous community, hear them with love. They are not admonishments. They are ancestral reminders:
“We have been disrupting this system since its inception. Don’t mistake your entry point for the origin story.”
Our work is not to reform this system,it’s to build something where we all exist in our agency, autonomy, and humanity.
Talking Point One: The March Was a Beginning, Not the Arrival
For many, the march was an awakening. But for others, particularly Black and Indigenous people, it was a continuation of generations of labor, loss, and love.
When people critique the march as more of a “gathering” than a protest—they’re not minimizing your participation. They’re reminding you that true disruption means crossing lines power doesn’t want crossed.
Dr. King didn’t just “walk.” He broke laws. He walked through doors marked “White Only.”Rosa Parks didn’t just “sit.” She refused to move.Disruption always means risk.
Reframe:The goal isn’t to be perfect. It’s to be in practice.
Reflection:What action (large or small) can transform your visibility into consistency?
Talking Point Two: From Symbolic Protest to Sustained Practice
The No Kings movement isn’t a chant, it’s a challenge.It asks: what would leadership look like if it wasn’t about control, but care?
Supremacy culture has always taught us to perform power instead of practice it.It’s why movements that start with intention often get swallowed by ego, perfectionism, or individualism.
The call here is to sustain. To move from momentary unity to long-term movement.To connect the dots between the joy of gathering and the discipline of governance.
Reframe:Marches build momentum. Movements build systems.
Reflection:Where does hierarchy still live in how you show up?How can you model shared power at home, at work, and in community?
Talking Point Three: Community Is the Continuum
“The real power of the march wasn’t in the noise, it was in the network.”
Every glance between strangers was a thread of kinship waiting to be woven.
But if seven million people march and then go their separate ways, that’s not liberation—that’s individualism wearing a movement’s clothes.
We don’t need kings.We need kinship.We need pods. We need practice. We need each other.
Reframe:No Kings means no hierarchy, but yes to humanity, yes to collective care.
Reflection:Who did you connect with during the march that you can build with now?How will you sustain that connection beyond the moment?
From Movement to Momentum: The Work Beyond the Walk
Every movement needs a maintenance plan. Here are three ways to build beyond the moment:
* Educate: Learn the systems you want to dismantle. Study, read, stay curious.
* Resource: Support local organizers with your time, skills, and funds. Find existing mutual aid efforts—don’t reinvent them. (Start with mutualaidhub.org or mutualaidnetwork.org).
* Relate: Join or Build community pods. Host gatherings, share meals, create care circles.
This is what disruption looks like in practice: rest, repair, redistribution.
Somatic Integration: Embodying Kinship
Place your feet on the ground.Inhale: I am part of something larger.Exhale: I have a part to play.
That’s liberation.That’s the rhythm of No Kings.
✨ Practice Your Praxis
* Self: Where are you still performing goodness instead of practicing humanity?
* Home: What would it look like to lead with care instead of control?
* Work: Where can you shift from competition to collaboration?
Closing Truth
The absence of kings doesn’t mean the absence of leadership.It means we lead differently, with humility, accountability, and shared power.
Continue the Conversation
If this resonated with you, become a paid subscriber to my Liberation Educatin Newsletter here on Substack.Join the conversation, share your reflections, and consider supporting the Make Shi(f)t Happen Mutual Aid Fund — where we’re turning community into care, one act at a time.
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Ways to Journey Deeper
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Thank you Jerome T. Marshall, Taylor McC, Kate, Schehera, Alvin Robinson, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.
In solidarity and liberation,Desireé B. Stephens, CPS-PEducator | Counselor | Community BuilderFounder, Make Shi(f)t HappenWriter of Liberation EducationWhere Reflection Meets Transformation
