Speakers, including prominent Georgia politicians and civil rights and advocacy leaders, said the current climate is moving away from democracy. This was a marked change in tone from June’s No Kings event, where organizers warned of undemocratic behavior on the part of the administration, such as hosting a military parade to coincide with President Donald Trump’s birthday.
Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams characterized the political battle as a fight over the direction of the nation, the Georgia Recorder reported.
“Once upon a time, we were all headed to the same destination, just a different route,” Abrams told the crowd. “There may be other ways to get there, but the route we were going to take was democracy… But on the other hand, they decided that the route they wanted to take was authoritarianism, not democracy.”
Organizers say more than 10,000 people gathered at the Atlanta Civic Center ahead of the march to the state Capitol, one of more than 40 events held across Georgia on Saturday, but the actual number could be closer to 12,000, said Laura Judge of Indivisible North Metro, one of the event organizers. Martha Shockey, convener of the Indivisible Georgia Coalition, said more than 5,000 people had registered ahead of the protest.
MNA/