The Melrose Messenger

Over 1000 Attend “No Kings” Rally in Melrose

By Ellen Putnam

On Saturday afternoon, Melrose hosted a “No Kings” rally - one of over 2,000 organized across the country - in opposition to policies and actions of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Despite a light rain during the event, organizers estimated that over 1,000 people attended the rally in Melrose, with some guessing the number may have been closer to 2,000. Attendees gathered in front of City Hall with signs, flags and political t-shirts, then marched down to the Ell Pond gazebo, where they sang protest songs and heard from several speakers.

“The Ell Pond park area was already packed while people were still marching down Myrtle and West Emerson Streets,” reported organizer Sue Herz. “We ended up spilling along Main Street.”

The speaking portion of the event began with a moment of silence for Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were assassinated just hours before the event, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, who were badly injured in the same attacks.

Speakers addressed a number of policy concerns, including increased immigration raids, arrests, and detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); proposed funding cuts to veterans services, healthcare, and education; policies targeting transgender individuals; and the deployment of military force against protestors in Los Angeles last week.

City Councilor Maya Jamaleddine spoke first about her experience as a Muslim and an immigrant. “What we are witnessing is not just harmful policy,” she said, “it is deliberate cruelty, violence, and systemic oppression.”

Jamaleddine described recent ICE raids as “tearing families apart,” and asked the assembled crowd, “If ICE shows up, how much can our neighbors count on us? Can they count on our silence, or our resistance?”

“The time for statements has passed,” Jamaleddine concluded, “The time for safe silence is over. Our communities need protection, not hesitation.”

The next speaker was Sam Stella, a veteran from Wakefield, who drew a parallel between the current administration and totalitarian regimes in countries like Russia. “That can happen here in a heartbeat,” he said. “If we don’t speak up,” he went on, “we’re going to lose our rights.”

Then Frances Demiany, who identified herself as a member of the disabled, Jewish, and LGBTQ communities, spoke. Demiany expressed her concern that current policies might lead to a return to the past, where individuals with disabilities were “caged in state schools” and members of the LGBTQ community were afraid to attend Pride marches without wearing paper bags over their heads to avoid recognition.

“We’ve come a long way since those early days,” she said, “but Trump is setting the clock back.”

Then Rod MacInnes and Mike Poirer, who are both Deaf, spoke. Throughout much of the speaking program, Christopher Robinson, who works on access for disabled individuals at Boston University and Think Outside the Vox, provided American Sign Language (ASL) translation for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in the audience. But when MacInnes and Poirer were speaking, Robinson instead translated their ASL into spoken English for the assembled crowd, providing a reminder for those assembled of the importance of services like ASL translation to make events like this one accessible to all.

MacInnes and Poirer both noted that they had successful careers, despite not having had ASL interpreters available until the rights of individuals with disabilities were enshrined in Section 504 and then the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“That’s what’s at risk here,” said MacInnes. “Disabled individuals need to be protected.”

“Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, plus A - Access - needs to be maintained,” added Poirer.

Organizers noted that two additional activists had been intending to speak, but felt it was too dangerous in light of recent events.

State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian then spoke, stating that she “shares the alarm of my constituents” at the Trump administration’s actions. “The level of cruelty, incompetence, and corruption in this administration is astounding,” she said.

She advised the audience to “lean into the issues you have expertise in and passion for.” She also noted that Massachusetts can serve as a “model for the nation: we celebrate diversity, believe science, and strive for economic justice.”

Lipper-Garabedian listed some of the actions that the Massachusetts State Legislature has taken recently to protect the rights of Bay Staters. “The Legislature will work for you, and do our part to make Massachusetts a beacon of hope, as we fight together for our communal rights.”

State Senator Jason Lewis concluded the speaking program by sharing his own story of immigrating from South Africa to the US as a child. “At the time, South Africa was still under the racist and cruel Apartheid regime,” he said, “and my parents immigrated here because they wanted us to grow up in a society that believed in justice and equality for all.”

“It takes hard work and grit to succeed as an immigrant,” he went on, “and those are qualities we purport to admire in America.”

Lewis also noted that freezing programs for admitting refugees into the US harms people who have “faced unimaginable hardship and months, if not years, of vetting before they come into the country. The Afghans who stood alongside us, at great risk, are now left to fend for themselves.”

He provided numerous examples of the benefits that immigrants provide to the state and national economies. “They contribute to our art, our science, our culture, our food,” he went on. “Current immigration policies are damaging our future prospects for innovation and growth.”

“I am grateful to our state leaders for their moral clarity in opposing this administration,” Lewis added. “Our leaders here in Massachusetts will continue to stand up for our values, and they won’t be bullied and cowed by this administration.”

More information about the rally's organizers can be found on the Mobilize Melrose page and by contacting Indivisible Melrose Wakefield Plus.

Posted June 17th, 2025