Hundreds of activists took to the Walkway Over the Hudson on March 9 marching in solidarity against President Donald Trump and fascism, and showing unity with Palestinians, Ukrainians and transgender people.
The march was organized by the Hudson Valley chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (HVJVP) and had 25 endorsing organizations, including New Paltz Women in Black and New Paltz Students for Palestine, who co-sponsored the event.
“This is probably the biggest collaborative effort that I’ve seen locally. So that’s really inspiring” HVJVP member Katari Sisa said.
The main goal of the march, according to Sisa, is inspiring policy change at a local level and placing power in the hands of local communities.
Founder of Rally Middletown Jason Nietzschmann led chants through a portion of the march. “We’re going to keep building grassroots power, whether it’s in Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Middletown, all across the Hudson Valley, to show that people really have the power, not billionaires, no matter how many times they might try to intimidate us,” Nietzschmann said.
The activists marched from both the Poughkeepsie and Highland sides of the walkway while shouting, chanting, holding signs and waving various flags, all representative of issues the protestors marched in support of.
“We want a free and just society, not an oligarch and a fascist society,” demonstrator Valerie Dare said. “That’s why I’m here, and I’ll be here every march I can go to.”
The two groups converged in the middle of the walkway, forming a large crowd around a band that played live music throughout the march, where people danced and chanted.
The protestors rallied for collective liberation for all oppressed peoples regardless of their geographical location. Many placed emphasis on the potential and ongoing cuts in federal funding to various programs and agencies.
“Our government has been taken over by a bunch of mega rich billionaires who want to steal all of our money and put it in their pockets,” Dare said. “That’s not what America is about. That’s not what my father fought in World War II for and then got a purple heart for.”
Other signs criticized the proposed tax cuts by Trump, the United States’ federal aid to the Israeli government and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group.
Other protestors rallied for international peace, women’s rights, healthcare and Trump’s immigration policies.
Additionally, many signs and protestors accused Trump and Elon Musk of attempting to turn the government into a fascist state through Trump’s flurry of executive orders in combination with funding cuts.
“We’re just here to rally together to draw attention to what Trump has been doing to our country with all his executive orders,” Nietzschmann said.
“We want to come out here and show support to say that we stand with the people. We stand united. We’re not going to be intimidated.”