Author: Ava Blando

Ava Blando is a writer and editorial intern with Ms. She is currently majoring in government at Smith College with a concentration in community engagement and social change and a certificate in reproductive health, rights and justice. Blando is an aspiring impact litigator with experience in state and federal policy and government, nonprofit administration, environmental organizing and journalism. In her free time, she enjoys songwriting and playing guitar.

Our Favorite Signs From the No Kings Protests

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Thousands of No Kings protests swept across the United States on Saturday, June 14. The protests intentionally coincided with a lavish, Trump-ordered U.S. Army 250th anniversary parade, Flag Day and the president’s 79th birthday.

From big cities, to small rural towns, representing every corner of the country, between 4 and 6 million people in more than 2,000 locations attended No Kings protests across the country, making it one of the largest national protests in U.S. history.

“Today what I saw was a boisterous, peaceful display of First Amendment rights,” Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, told NPR.

Here are some of our favorite signs from those “boisterous” protesters.

The Life of the Mother, The Grief of Her Child: What Abortion Bans Take From Us

A 6-year-old boy faces life without his mother, Amber Nicole Thurman, because of an abortion ban. Candi Miller died at home with her 3-year-old daughter beside her, after her teenage son watched her suffer for days, because she was too scared to seek follow-up abortion and miscarriage care. And in Indiana, Taysha Wilkinson-Sobieski, a 26-year-old mom of one, died after she could not access timely reproductive healthcare for an ectopic pregnancy.

As someone who lost my mother as a teenager and who worked with grieving children as a volunteer, I implore you to imagine the powerless feeling of watching your mother’s last moments, wishing you could save her. Imagine the rage you would feel if you knew she could have been saved, but some politician did not care enough about her life to write a clear, evidence-based law that protected it.