You Went to the “No Kings” Protest… Now What?

Attending a protest—such as the recent No Kings Protests—is an exciting and powerful first step. You showed up, you raised your voice, you stood for something. But the truth is: the fight for intellectual freedom and the right to read doesn’t end when the signs come down. In fact, for many of us it’s just the beginning.

Here’s how to transform that moment of action into sustained impact, protecting the freedom to read in your community, building momentum locally, and making real change.

1. Ground Yourself in the Why

Your presence at the protest is a statement: that you believe in democracy, in public education, in free inquiry, in books and ideas. At the Freedom to Read Project we note that book bans, censorship drives, and top-down control of educational materials are symptoms of a larger threat to democratic culture. For example, in “Unprecedented Control: How States Are Seizing Power Over Local Book Decisions” we document how states are stripping away local authority over libraries and books.

As you move into action, keep the “why” front and center: this isn’t just about one book or one library. It’s about preserving access to a wide range of ideas, authors, identities, and perspectives. It's about ensuring that reading remains a doorway, not a gate with a guard.

2. Connect the Protest to the Freedom to Read

At first glance, a “No Kings” protest might seem targeted at political power or executive over-reach. But there’s a clear connection to freedom of ideas and reading: censorship, intimidation, suppression of dissent. When power sets itself above accountability, it often seeks to control knowledge and narratives, including what children in classrooms can see, what libraries can stock, what educators can teach.

To explore how these controls play out in practice, we point you to our piece “How Education Laws Are Made and How You Can Make Your Voice Heard”, a practical breakdown of how legislation becomes policy and ends up in your local district.

So your protest attendance doesn’t stop at rallying; it becomes the foundation for defending the capacity of your schools and libraries to offer full access to reading.

3. Get the Workbook: Turning the Page: An Advocate’s Guide to the Freedom to Read

We created this guide for folks just like you—parents, educators, librarians, community members—who want to move from a one-day event to ongoing advocacy. You can download it here: Get the guide.

The workbook offers:

• Personal stories from advocates who stepped up when books were challenged.
  
  
• Step-by-step tools for organizing locally (community teams, school boards, library boards).
  
  
• Tips on how to talk about freedom to read in everyday settings.
  
  
• Guidance on sustaining your effort so it doesn’t end when the protest is over.
  
  

If you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, do that now. It will become your roadmap.

4. Choose Your Next Step: Don’t Let the Momentum Fade

Here are concrete actions you can take in the next 30–90 days:

A. Monitor Your Local Environment

• Subscribe to your school district, library board, or local education department newsletters. Watch for library-material challenges, policy changes, public comment periods.
  
  
• Use our guide “How to Make a Public Records Request” to uncover what’s happening behind the scenes.
  
  
• Attend a school board or library board meeting, even just as an observer, to see how decisions are made.
  
  

B. Build a Community of Advocates

• Recruit 2-3 friends/neighbors who believe in the right to read and meet regularly.
  
  
• Use our article “Building a Coalition to Fight Book Bans: You Can’t Do It Alone” to help structure your team.
  
  
• Host an event or discussion in your local library or community center about the value of diverse reading materials.
  
  

C. Engage Your School or Library

• Ask your librarian or teacher: “How are book-selections made here? What safeguards exist against removal?”
  
  
• Volunteer for or attend your district’s Instructional Materials Review Committee or Library Advisory Board (if available).
  
  
• Offer to work with the school/library to create a “Freedom to Read” display or week-long event.
  
  

D. Stay Informed & Speak Publicly

• Read articles on our site like “The Danger of Labels: Why a National Book Rating System Could Harm Readers, Writers, and Libraries.”
  
  
• Write a letter to your local paper or post on social media about why access to books matters in your community.
  
  
• When you see censorship occurring: challenge it publicly. Ask why a book is under review. Request transparency.
  
  

E. Vote, Advocate, Influence Policy

• State and local elections matter… a lot. Candidates often shape education policy, library funding, and censorship mandates. Get tips on how to speak with lawmakers in our article “How to Talk to Your Legislators About the Freedom to Read.”
  
  
• Use what you learned in our “From Idea to Implementation” article to track bills and rule-making in your area.
  
  
• Attend public comment periods. They are real opportunities for you to influence decisions.

5. Measure and Celebrate Wins

Advocacy often feels overwhelming because it’s rarely a sudden victory march. But small wins matter:

• A book remains on the shelf.
  
  
• A school board reverses a removal.
  
  
• A local discussion group forms.
  
  
• A district clarifies its challenge policy.
  
  

Record these wins. Use them to energize your group. Use our workbook’s “reflection and planning” sections to stay focused and refresh your energy.

6. Stay Vigilant, Because the Threats Keep Coming

As our research shows, the freedom to read is under pressure in many ways:

• State governments are overriding local control and banning books pre-emptively.
  
  
• National book-rating or classification systems are being proposed, which could limit access for entire categories of books.
  
  
• Surveillance or intimidation of dissent (whether in protests or educational settings) threatens open debate and access to ideas.
  
  

The No Kings protest was a marker, a sign that many people are watching, resisting, and caring. But protecting the freedom to read is a campaign, not a day.

7. Make It Personal: Your Why, Your Story

In the workbook Turning the Page, we invite you to share: Why does the right to read matter for you? Maybe it was a book that changed your life. Maybe you teach children and believe in access for all. Maybe you saw discrimination in what stories were allowed. Whatever your reason, hold it close.

When you share your story at a school board meeting, with neighbours, online… you turn abstract principles into real relationships. And that builds community defence of books and ideas.

8. Keep the Movement Alive

Here are a few “evergreen” habits to keep the momentum going:

• Weekly effort: make it a point to talk about the importance of protecting education and library access with one new person a week.
• Monthly check-in: 10 minutes to check your district or library website for “challenges” or agenda items.
  
  
• Quarterly discussion: with your group or friends to ask what’s changed? What’s next?
  
  
• Annual audit: pick one library or school in your area and ask: “What changes have we seen in access to books and ideas this year?” Share what you learn with your local leaders and recommend policy changes you would like to see in the next session.
• Share resources: bookmark articles like those on our site, share the workbook Turning the Page, invite others to join the effort.

In Closing

Attending the No Kings protest was meaningful. But change doesn’t happen by attendance alone. It happens by action after attendance. By turning presence into preparation, protest into process, momentum into movement.

At the Freedom to Read Project we believe that every person who shows up—holds a sign, marches, raises a voice—can become a local guardian of the right to read. With the workbook Turning the Page, the articles on our site, and the everyday decisions you make in your community, you can protect that right not just for now, but for generations to come.

So: what’s your next step? Pick one from above. Set a date. Invite someone. And keep showing up, not just in the streets, but at the board meeting, the library, the committee, the classroom.

Because the freedom to read is worth it, and your voice is needed.

Thank you for standing up. And thank you for staying in the fight.