We miss you!

Patriots,

If you haven't been with us in a while– make a plan, and bring a friend, this month to join us on any Tuesday or Friday. We must continue to stand out to show that people are not alone and that we won't suffer in silence while the Trump regime hacks away at the foundations of our democracy.

Tuesdays, 4-5PM, Park Square: August 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th

No Kings Westfield Weekly Standout · Mobilize

No Kings Westfield: Defending democracy through nonviolent action, uniting community to reject authoritarianism, and affirming that power belongs to the people. We vigil every Tuesday in Park Square until someone takes the oath of Presidential office who does not seek to be a king! ### Our Commitment No Kings Westfield is committed to peaceful, lawful resistance. We defend democracy through the power of organized community action, not confrontation. ### Core Principles - Non-violent resistance is strategically effective - De-escalation protects our movement, our community, and our message - Peaceful persistence builds the broad coalition needed for lasting change ### At Events - Remain calm and composed, even when provoked - Do not engage with counter-protesters or hecklers - If tensions arise, step back and find an organizer - Our strength comes from disciplined unity, not individual reactions - Remember: we’re modeling the democracy we seek to protect ### Why This Matters Research shows non-violent movements are twice as likely to succeed as violent ones. Every act of discipline strengthens our cause and our community. ### If Confronted “We’re here peacefully exercising our constitutional rights to defend democracy. Thank you for your concern.” Questions or concerns? Contact an organizer immediately. ### We stand out in Westfield: To show our neighbors they are not alone To show our neighbors we will not be silent in the face of authoritarianism To build community and resiliency with existing organizations All are welcome. Please refrain from profanity on signs. [Parking](https://www.cityofwestfield.org/DocumentCenter/View/1575/AMENDED-Parking-Lot-Locations?bidId=) Contact us: [email protected]

Mobilize

Fridays, 4-5PM, Park Square: July 31st, August 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th

Weekly (Fri) Mass Pike Overpass Standout in Westfield - Southampton Rd (Routes 10/202) · Mobilize

No Kings Westfield: Defending democracy through nonviolent action, uniting community to reject authoritarianism, and affirming that power belongs to the people. Please wear highly visible clothing if possible. Wow! What a great location for a standout! There’s lots and lots of traffic passing by. Southampton Road (Routes 10/202) is heavily traveled northbound and southbound, and the Mass Pike eastbound and westbound is below. Lots of honks and thumbs up and waves...and a few folks flying middle fingers. We smile and wave at them all! We’ve discovered that the magic happens when we smile and wave to people! Come when you can, and leave when you must. You needn’t be present for the entire event. ## How to Get There The address “130 Southampton Road, Westfield” will get you just north of the overpass. ## Parking We can’t park in the Southampton Rd breakdown lane. There are vacant business properties north of the bridge, and we’ve been warned NOT to park there. Please park on the north side (the westbound shoulder) of Sgt. Thomas Dion Way, off of Southampton Rd. just north of the Mass Pike. ## Etiquette! We don’t give the finger to people who give the finger to us, or who say unpleasant things. We smile and wave to them, too. We may see a counter protester. If so, the best thing to do is just ignore them and spend our time and energy waving to motorists. Let’s keep things 100% non-confrontational in words and body language. ## Other Stuff Please take everything you brought away with you, and leave the site totally clean. If rain is predicted, we’ll cancel. ## A Few Requests We’ve found that roof rake sections make wonderful flagpoles and banner poles. If you have a roof rake (or 10’-15’ light metal poles or conduit) to contribute, we’ll be happy to take it off your hands! And, if you have an extra 3′ x 5′ American flag you’re not using, we’d love it if you’d pass it on to us!

Mobilize

Don't get us wrong– we are still 40+ strong every week, through the heat, the rain, and the smoke. We understand if you aren't able to be out in Park Square for any reason! We'll stay holding a place for you. We've grown to know and love our fellow resisters and we want to hear from you if we haven't in a while to know you're doing okay!

That's what neighbors do. We leave our corner of the world better than we found it. We leave our neighbors better than we found them.

Disability Pride Month

It is Disability Pride month! The ADA, a civil rights law that prohibits discriminationb ased on disability, was signed into law on July 26th, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. We stand in solidarity with the activists that fought to make this a reality, and those who still fight today to ensure their civil rights are respected.

Heather Cox Richardson shared a quick summary in recognition of this landmark legislation:

For an incredible documentary on the disability activists that organized and occupied buildings during the fight for disability rights, check out Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution. We'd love to put together a viewing of this, if anyone is interested in organizing!

Crip Camp | A Disability Revolution

Crip Camp

Upcoming No Kings Westfield Event

Postcard Writing: Make A Plan To Vote!
Saturday, Aug 1, 11AM-1PM at the Westfield Athenaeum
Write postcards to your neighbors in Westfield reminding them to make a plan to vote!

Action: Freedom Truck at The Big E

This is time sensitive. Please join us in expressing your opposition to the Freedom250 truck being part of the Big E this year by contacting the Big E at 413-737-2443 or [email protected].

Planning is obviously well underway for the Big E this year, and we need to be calling and emailing anyone who will listen. The Freedom Truck is planned to be there for the entire event, from Sept. 18-Oct. 4. We beat them in Westfield. With the power of the entire New England region we can do it again!

Massachusetts is rich in history, museums, historical commissions and committees, and even has its own MA250 organization! Importing a PragerU/Hillsdale College sponsored "history" truck to The Big E doesn't make any sense, especially given it is already host to its own historical site, Storrowton Village!

"Eastern States Exposition is a nonprofit educational organization chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees made up of 165 voting trustees representing all six New England states—40 from Massachusetts and 25 each from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont."

If you know any of the 165 voting trustees in any of the above states, or vendors at The Big E, please reach out to them. If you are connected to an Indivisible, 50501, or any other organizing/activist group in any of those states, please reach out to them and share RUWMI's call to action

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1LNR7Thvvx/

The Freedom250.org is advertising that a Freedom 250 truck will be hosted at The Big E this year! The Freedom 250 truck is a project of Trump's partisan initiative, and not of “America 250,” the bi-partisan committee authorized by Congress in 2016. It is a product of PraegerU and Hillsdale College, two organizations that promote and teach Christian Nationalist revisionist versions of American history in their for-profit curriculums, to write a revisionist version of history for the Freedom 250 Freedom Truck initiative. Earlier this summer the truck was supposed to come to Westfield State and activist pushback got that canceled. We can do it again! Please join us in expressing your opposition to the Freedom250 truck being part of the Big E this year by contacting the Big E at 413-737-2443 or [email protected]."

Publicly available contact info related to The Big E:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/WHP0KA9K1G#GjjEotzPqehq

Longer, more detailed sample letter, with an optional personal note:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/05D01KA8FC#upLcKoTpi2Ue

You can reach us at [email protected] , and RUWMI at [email protected]

Venceremos,

No Kings Westfield