Arnie Alpert spent decades as a community organizer/educator in NH movements for social justice and peace. Officially retired since 2020, he keeps his hands (and feet) in the activist world while writing about past and present social movements.
By ARNIE ALPERT, Active with the Activists
The grassroots upsurge of resistance to the policies of the Trump administration will reach a new peak Saturday, April 5, when demonstrations are expected in one thousand locations nationwide, including sixteen in New Hampshire.
Mostly organized under the theme of “Hands Off,” protests will call attention to the administration’s assaults on civil rights, civil liberties, and the services provided by federal agencies whose budgets and staff are being slashed.
In New Hampshire, the afternoon rally at the State House and City Plaza in Concord is expected to be the largest. “We are committed to ensuring that our voices are heard loud and clear,” said Victoria Farrell of 50501 NH, the newly formed organization which has taken the lead on Concord protests. “This rally represents the collective will of the people who believe this administration is a direct threat to democracy and The People as a whole and we will not stop until meaningful change is made.”
The New Hampshire branch of the national 50501 movement was begun by people who met up on a social media app and agreed to hold a protest in Concord. Their first, February 5, was followed by others on February 17, Presidents Day, which they called “Not My President’s Day,” and on International Women’s Day, March 8. The demonstrations all attracted sizeable crowds of chanting protesters, many of them carrying home-made signs which they waved at cars passing by on Main Street.
In a news release earlier this week, 50501 said its calls are for the removal of corrupt politicians, the reversal of harmful policies, and the reclamation of democracy. Democratic U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander is expected to be among the speakers at the Saturday rally. Organizers have not yet released a list of other speakers or performers.
A major rally at the Washington Monument is also scheduled, organized by a national Hands Off coalition. New Hampshire Forward, another new group, is organizing vans leaving from Salem at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 4, and returning to New Hampshire on Sunday, April 6. There is also a bus leaving Concord at midnight Friday and returning overnight after the D.C. rally.
A noon rally at Market Square in Portsmouth will include music from the Leftist Marching Band and T.J. Wheeler.
Hanover will have two rallies, one by the post office in the afternoon and one near major retirement communities in the morning. An additional rally will take place across the river in White River Junction.
Most of the New Hampshire rallies are being organized under the “Hands Off!” umbrella, with the Concord event taking place with dual identification with the 50501 movement. In addition, the weekly Tesla Takedown demonstration will take place outside the company’s dealership in Portsmouth.
Organizers of all the events have emphasized their intent to keep the protests peaceful. The 50501 group has circulated suggestions for keeping cool in the face of provocation and will have members of the New Hampshire Peacekeepers Project at the event in Concord. Hands Off! says, “We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values, and to act lawfully at these events.”
In recent days, social media and email lists have been abuzz with calls for people to join demonstrations all over the country. Three days after the Trump administration terminated collective bargaining agreements for about a million federal workers, the Federal Unionist Network, a new group, held a Zoom meeting with more than 2500 people in which they promoted the April 5 actions. In New Hampshire, groups including the NH AFL-CIO, Rights and Democracy, the Kent Street Coalition, 350NH, Manchester NAACP, and others have joined the call for people to join street protests Saturday.
They may want to bring umbrellas; the forecast is for rain.
As of Thursday morning, April 3, planned demonstrations in New Hampshire include:
1. Colebrook, 10 AM to Noon, Colebrook Library, 149 Main Street.
2. Concord, Noon to 5 PM, State House area.
3. Conway, Noon to 2 PM, Four Corners, intersection of Rte. 16 and Rte. 113.
Dover, 2 to 3 PM, Weeks’ Crossing, 238 Indian Brook Rd.
5. Enfield, 10 to 11 AM, US 4 and Main Street.
6. Hanover, 9 AM to Noon, 53 Lyme Road.
7. Hanover, 2 to 4 PM, Hanover Town Hall, 41 South Main St.
8. Keene, Noon to 2 PM, Central Square.
9. Littleton, Noon to 3 pm, 134 Main Street, Littleton Post Office
10. Nashua, Noon to 2 pm, Library Hill
11. New London, 1 to 3 PM, Town Green.
12. Peterborough, 1 to 2:30 PM, 100 Grove St (intersection 101 and 202)
13. Plaistow, 1 to 2 PM, 145 Main St.
14. Portsmouth Tesla Takedown, 10 AM to 1 PM, 2454 Lafayette Rd.
15. Portsmouth, Noon to 2 PM, Market Square.
16. Wolfeboro, Noon – 2 PM, Pickering Corner, 136 S Main St.