On March 28 in Springfield, more than 20 activist organizations came together to organize a protest against unjust immigration crackdowns, the war in Iran, economic failures and more policies of President Donald Trump’s administration. Organizers say the purpose of the march was to show solidarity with the Latino community and unite Eugene and Springfield for the common cause of fighting fascism.

At least 4,000 people massed outside the Springfield City Hall and marched up Pioneer Parkway East to Centennial Boulevard and back down Pioneer Parkway West, returning to City Hall. At one point, both sides of Pioneer Parkway were completely full of marching protesters..

“It was beautiful,” says Johanis Tadeo, an organizer with the Springfield Alliance for Equity and Respect. “It was a proud day to be from Springfield.” Tadeo says he helped organize the march in Springfield because the alliance wants to shed light on the Springfield community, which he says is often ignored. Tadeo says the massive turn out made him “feel proud to be Chicano.” 

Stan Taylor, co-founder of the Activist Coalition of Eugene and Springfield and steering committee member of Indivisible Eugene Springfield, says the mission of protests like “No Kings!” is to create a social movement for resistance to fascism. “Part of the way you do that mission is through alliances,” Taylor says. “So one of the pieces we were missing was the piece in Springfield.” 

Springfield has a larger Latino community than Eugene, with 15.1 percent of the population being Hispanic or Latino according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Because of this, Taylor and the organizers say they felt it necessary to show solidarity in the city at a time where federal immigration crackdowns are at an all-time high.

Later that evening, a smaller protest outside the downtown Eugene Federal Building titled “The Art Of Resistance” held space for protesters to mourn detainees who died while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. There, protesters drew chalk art on the Federal Building’s plaza grounds, sang songs and spoke of resistance to fascism. Protesters held a small candlelight vigil at the building’s entrance to mourn those lost.