SALISBURY — Motorists passing through Salisbury have likely been seeing more and more protests along West Innes Street over the past couple of months and last Saturday was no exception.

What was different about Saturday’s protest is that it was not held in alignment with other demonstrations across the nation. Organizer Joyce Nash has been behind more than one protest in downtown Salisbury this year and she said that they are growing.

“I feel really good about the turnout,” Nash said. “We had many new protesters protesting for the first time. I think we are reaching more people who feel connected to this cause.”

Nash and the protesters on Saturday took to the street to express opposition to the Donald Trump administration’s latest “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a budget reconciliation package that extends tax cuts from his previous term and also changes provisions for recipients of Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program also known as SNAP.

Critics of the bill argue that it takes food out of the mouths of lower-income families while rewarding the country’s richest with tax breaks.

“As folks are showing up to this protest the things a lot of people were talking about were the budget reconciliation bill and cuts to SNAP and Medicaid,” Nash said. “These are all things that would impact people in North Carolina very directly.”

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services April Medicaid enrollment report, 51,170 Rowan County residents received Medicaid benefits. Meanwhile, statisticalatlas.com has Rowan County residents SNAP usage at 15 percent.

Nash indicated that the breakneck pace of news coming out of Washington, D.C. these days makes it hard to coalesce around one issue, especially given the planning that goes into staging protests and obtaining the required permitting to do so in public space downtown.

“One thing to consider is that with permitted protest it takes a lot of time between applying for the permit and having the event,” she said. “Things are happening so quickly. Things that prompted the protest might not be the same thing that people are angry about but the time the protest happens.”

One constant remains, however.

“At the protest this past Saturday, we rallied under the tides of defending democracy,” Nash said. “We want to make it clear that we are against the Trump administration’s policies but we are also for democracy and the constitution…

“We can see that Trump is defying the Supreme Court. He is not respecting checks and balances. He is overriding the authority of Congress. These things are unAmerican.”

Although one motorist did slow down and burn out their tires before driving off, most vehicles just passed or offered a supportive honk.

“(Saturday) went well,” Nash said. “One of the offices with Salisbury PD ended up sitting at the corner and doing traffic enforcement. That was really nice. He said he did not want the group to be intimidated.”

Much like how voter turnout increases during national election cycles, Nash said that protest turnout can be influenced by larger demonstrations around the country. That so many people showed up on Saturday despite no national demonstrations taking place encouraged her as an organizer.

“This was not a national day of protest,” Nash said. “This was a standalone event here in Salisbury. So I think having nearly 100 people shows that people are concerned.”

Nash said that the demonstrations will continue with another one planned for June 14.

The Trump administration has announced plans for a military parade that day to recognize the 250th anniversary of the Continental Army’s formation in the lead up to the Revolutionary War. June 14 is also Trump’s birthday.

“June 14 is a national day of protest that is being organized by volunteers under the 50501 grassroots group,” Nash said.

That organization’s title stands for 50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement.

“This is actually a very decentralized thing,” Nash said. “Across the county people are working with groups in their area to form protests.”

June 14’s protest focuses on demonstrators’ concerns that Trump is exercising authority beyond the scope of his office.

“The theme for this protest is no kings,” Nash said. “Throwing a military parade on one’s birthday is a very kingly thing to do.”

Nash encouraged those interested to request to join the Salisbury Indivisible Facebook group. Other local organizations, such as the Women for Community Justice, can offer guidance as well.

As demonstrations continue, Nash invited anyone who wants to learn more to a Kingian nonviolence workshop on June 7.

“Kingian nonviolence is an approach to the protesting and civil disobedience that is based in the teaching of Dr. (Martin Luther) King (Jr.) and the Civil Rights Movement,” Nash said. “During that movement, large-scale nonviolent protests played a huge role in societal change.

“As we experience these large protests, we can look to the lessons of the past and use them to help guide us to what we are doing now.”

The workshop will focus on protest strategy and preparation through the lens of Kingian Nonviolence:

• What makes nonviolence effective?
• What protest sites are the most strategic?
• What other forms of nonviolent protest could we utilize?

“From there, we will have a training session to practice remaining nonviolent and nonreactive in protest settings,” Nash said.