On June 16, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump received a welcome fit for a hate-mongering, bigotry-spewing reactionary: hundreds of feet marching against his demagoguery, and hundreds of voices demanding anti-racist solidarity.
Similar responses to Trump have erupted throughout the country, with his rallies eliciting massive, city-shaking protests. Such a chaotic track record must have horrified the Dallas Police Department, as they shut down numerous streets in advance of “The Donald’s” regrettable arrival.
While the anti-Trump demonstrators lacked any form of central leadership, they stood together on the basis of a shared disdain for reactionaries. Volunteers from Code Pink mingled with veterans from the immigration movement, and everyone from anarchists to the politically undecided populated the crowd. This diversity reflects the communities targeted by the far right.
“Whenever a fascist comes out, I always want to make a radical presence,” proclaimed one activist from Denton. “Elections are not enough. As Lucy Parsons said, they won’t allow us to vote their power away.”
Indeed, elections will not suffice. But we also must go beyond loosely organized marches. Promising and potent as they may be, only a coordinated united front will be able to squash fascism. Socialists should begin earnestly pursuing efforts to build one, if they have not already.
Needless to say, we have a long way to go. But anti-Trump demonstrations like the one in Dallas, limited as they are, contain the seeds of new struggles to come.
