Several thousand people gathered in downtown Fayetteville Saturday to be part of the third No Kings rallies that stretched across the country. Fayetteville's event began with a march that covered several blocks on Dickson Street, culminating at the Upper Ramble for music and speeches. Here is a sampling of the voices involved Saturday.
"I got involved because I saw things happening in our country that made me stop and say, if I don't do something, what am I teaching my kid about courage? What am I teaching my kid about responsibility? What am I teaching them about what it means to be an American?"
"This is my third protest. And even though I grew up in the '60s, I never protested before. So what I have learned through this process is that there is such a wonderful feeling when you are with like-minded people. Who could sit at home when all of this is going on in our country? You have to do something. So one evening, while listening to the news, I thought, I need to be active. I need to do something. So I have started writing letters, postcards, joined Indivisible, and I get together and protest with all these people that I don't know. But it is a wonderful feeling and I feel like I'm doing a small part."
"This is what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like.”
“And I think it's important to stand up for what we were taught. We used to stand up for it. It's ridiculous, you know, so you have to get out and show your voice. It's the only thing we can do, really. I mean, it doesn't seem like our votes count in every state I've lived in. So you got to go out and show your voice and show your support and be a part of the movement. You can't just be frustrated and sit at home and do nothing."
"In a few years, to replace a red king with a blue king — it was said earlier that this is not about Republicans and Democrats. This is not about partisanship. This is not about any of those games. But we cannot replace one king with another."
Sounds from Saturday's No Kings protest in downtown Fayetteville. National organizers say the more than 3,000 rallies represented the largest single-day protest in American history.
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