CHARLOTTE — First Ward Park in Uptown Charlotte is relatively empty on Friday, but the center city is expected to be filled with thousands of demonstrators Saturday morning.
There are protests planned in Charlotte and about a dozen other towns in the area for Saturday’s “No Kings Rally & March.”
“I think it’s going to be an incredible show of courage and solidarity with our collective struggles, the things that actually are the foundation of this nation,” said Marcelle Vielot, an organizer with the Charlotte-Metrolina Labor Council.
Vielot says about 4,000 people are registered for the Charlotte rally, and she hopes thousands more will show up to First Ward Park.
“It is in response to labor, the attacks on unions, government workers, workers regardless of their union affiliations, attacks on our community members regardless of their status,” Vielot said.
Demonstrators plan to protest the Trump Administration and counter a military parade that’s scheduled for the same day in Washington D.C.
“This is a hub, there are people who are most likely going to be coming from areas that don’t have demonstrations,” Vielot said.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says it’s aware of the demonstrations and says officers are committed to protecting everyone’s right to peacefully gather.
Vielot says she hopes the message from these marches reaches leaders in Washington and beyond.
“This is a nation of immigrants. We want to honor the inscription on the bottom of the Statue of Liberty. We really do, we want to honor the working people that shape this nation,” Vielot said.
Saturday’s rally is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Organizers say they’ll gather at the park, march through Uptown, and then return to the park.
(VIDEO: PSA Airlines flight attendants rally at Charlotte Douglas airport for better pay)
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
