A nationwide “Hands Off!” protest against the second Trump administration on Saturday will include four demonstrations by Indivisible Hawaii members and supporters on the Big Island.
Nationwide, more than 600 rallies are planned, including on Oahu, Maui and Kauai.
The peaceful protest in Hilo — a group coordination by the Hilo, Keaau and Volcano chapters of Indivisible — will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in front of the Ross Dress For Less on Kanoelehua Avenue and will be a “silent,” with no yelling, waving hands or artistic signage.
The silent demonstration asks participants to bring clearly legible black and white signs that simply state “Hands Off Hawaii” or any particular cause the participant wishes to ask the Trump administration not to cut, including Social Security, Medicaid, the U.S. Department of Education, civil rights for any group, and more, explained Indivisible Hilo organizer Olani Lilly.
“We want to let the signs speak for themselves and be quiet,” Lilly said about the effort. “Family and friends that saw me at the Presidents Day protest said it was great to see everybody, but when they drove up, it looked like a celebration or when people camp out for the election. We’re trying to change it up and do something different.”
In addition to the Hilo protest, rallies will be held by Indivisible chapters in Waimea from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., in Naalehu from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and in Kona from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“Hawaii is doing its part to stand up against the harm being done to our children, our kupuna and our community,” Indivisible Hawaii statewide leader Lisa Gibson said. “We the people are the bulwark that protects democracy. There is no democracy without the people.”
Lilly said the East Hawaii chapters met to clarify their areas of focus for the protest in Hilo. She said one focus is the protection of democracy and the Constitution, particularly the rights of all people to be able to vote, while another is the guarding of civil rights across the gamut from women’s rights to LGBTQ+ rights to access to education and “benefits (people) paid in to all their lives,” like Social Security.
She said a third major focus for the protest is the protection of governmental institutions that specifically support Hawaii, including FEMA, which aids the state in the wake of natural disasters, NOAA, which supports the battle to overcome the climate crisis, and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) protections that allow universities to offer well-rounded educations and specifically Hawaiian immersion education that is supported by federal funding.
“In Hawaii, we have a unique opportunity to lead the way, if we’re brave and courageous enough, and take our ideas of caring for each other and caring for the environment using new ways and models,” Lilly said.
“We’re in it, too,” she said about the protests in Hawaii that will happen alongside the national day of protests, pointing out that Hawaii will be equally impacted by Trump’s decisions as states on the mainland.
“All of us living here know those tariffs are gonna kill us, ” she said. “You can’t even go to grocery store without spending a hundred dollars just for basics, not even being fancy, plus the fuel costs. Then you strip away all benefits for our families, the elderly and the disabled.
“Whether it’s the money getting taken away for local farmers to provide food for our schools, or taking care from our families and our kupuna, whether you protest or not, it’s time to come together as a community and really, really support each other and make sure nobody goes without,” Lilly continued. “It’s going to require us to really dig in and come up with our own solutions, and I have faith in this community. We can do it, because we’ve done it before.”
Indivisible is “a national grassroots movement formed in December 2016 to defeat the Trump agenda of racism, misogyny and authoritarianism.” The group boasts a nationwide network of thousands of local groups across the U.S., representing over a million people. For more about Indivisible Hawaii, visit indivisiblehawaii.org.
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
