1 year after first ‘No Kings’ rally, here’s what’s planned in Centre County this weekend
The one-year anniversary of the first “No Kings” rally is Saturday, but instead of another protest, local and national organizers are taking a different approach this weekend.
The groups that spearheaded the three previous “No Kings” rallies are encouraging people to tune in to watch “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment” at New York City’s Town Hall Sunday evening. And in Centre County, Keystone Indivisible invites people to join them earlier that day for a Flag Day demonstration.
The local group wants to send a message to Centre County: “We the People means all the people.” They plan to display this message, along with U.S. flags, on the I-99 overpass at the Toftrees exit (near Waddle Road and Colonnade Boulevard) from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
“It really looks spectacular,” said Keystone volunteer Dotty Delafield. “It just gives you a, I don’t know, patriotic feeling.”
Delafield, who organized the upcoming Flag Day celebration, has volunteered for Keystone Indivisible since it formed in December 2024. A local chapter of Indivisible, a national organization aiming to “stop the rise of authoritarianism” in the U.S., according to its website, Keystone has organized protests, mutual aid campaigns, and a reading group. “It’s really been a Swiss Army knife,” said Christy Delafield, Dotty Delafield’s daughter. This year, Keystone will celebrate Flag Day for the first time.
Last year on June 14, which is also President Donald Trump’s birthday, members of Keystone Indivisible joined hundreds in State College for the first of three nationwide “No Kings” protests.
“No Kings” protests have drawn millions of Americans to the streets, according to Center for American Progress, and ranked among the largest nonviolent demonstrations in American history. In March, over 2,000 people showed up for State College’s third “No Kings” rally. Participants waved signs as they gathered on Old Main lawn before marching through downtown State College toward Allen Street Gates.
This year, watch parties are planned across the country for the “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment” event. The concert, which the Committee for the First Amendment (CFA) is hosting, will feature performances by artists including Jane Fonda, who revived the McCarthy-era CFA, and Patti Smith.
The closest planned watch party to State College is in Williamsport, though Keystone is calling on Centre County residents to host their own gatherings.
On Wednesday, volunteers gathered in Dotty Delafield’s garage to paint the remaining letters for Keystone’s Flag Day demonstration. Dotty Delafield is asking participants to bring U.S. flags to the event, and those who wish to fasten their flags to the overpass fence before Flag Day are invited to join Keystone for its monthly meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County in State College.
At State College’s most recent “No Kings” march, many carried upside-down flags, a symbol of national distress. On Sunday, demonstrators will flip the flag right-side-up.
“Don’t take the flag away from us,” said Dotty Delafield. “It doesn’t ... belong to any one group.”
Readers can consult keystoneindivisible.org for more information about Flag Day and Keystone Indivisible’s other events. Mobilize.us/nokings lists watch parties for “Rise Up, Sing Out.”
