This past Saturday, nearly 200,000 people braved wind and cold temperatures to protest the recent impacts of Operation Metro Surge in the state’s largest No Kings rally yet. St. Paul served as the flagship protest, according to organizers, with more than 3,000 protests held worldwide.
Citizens marched from locations across the city to the State Capitol, where the rally was held, featuring multiple high-profile speakers, including Gov. Tim Walz, activist and actress Jane Fonda and singers Maggie Rogers, Joan Baez and Bruce Springsteen. The rally also featured local musicians, including the Twin Cities Singing Resistance and Brass Solidarity.
Music, community and healing were the focus of the rally, as Bruce Springsteen performed “Streets of Minneapolis” — a single he released in the wake of two Minnesota citizens’ deaths, Renée Good and Alex Pretti. Springsteen would later perform this song and Prince’s “Purple Rain” during his concert at Target Center Tuesday night.
“The power and solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, of Minnesota, was an inspiration to the entire country,” Springsteen said on stage at the rally. “Your strength and your commitment told us that this is still America.”
This sentiment was echoed by singer-songwriters Baez and Rogers, who sang a duet of “The Times They Are A-Changin,” a Bob Dylan song that Baez has not performed live since a protest with Martin Luther King Jr.
“I have been so inspired by the resilience and the fortitude that has been coming out of this state, so much love in the face of evil and hate,” Rogers said. “And the best way that I know how to give a little bit of love back to this city that has been such a beacon of it is to sing a song.”
The pair also performed alongside the local Singing Resistance.
Fonda, a famed activist and actress, read a statement from Becca Good, Renée Good’s wife. Becca shared that she and Renée stood for “radical kindness,” or the strength to admit mistakes and learn from them.
“I did not ask to be thrust into the spotlight or to be expected to speak out. It’s a circumstance I unfortunately found myself in. But regardless of how I arrived here, I feel it is my responsibility to send a message that hate has divided us and destroyed so many lives and families,” Fonda said, reading the statement. “But we can choose something else. We can choose radical kindness.”
The rally also saw a performance from Brass Solidarity, a band formed in 2021 as a response to the murder of George Floyd. The band performs every Monday at 5:30 p.m. at George Floyd Square and has been a frequent presence at protests throughout the Twin Cities since January.
