From information sessions to the almost 7,000-person No Kings Day protest on June 14, Indivisible Charlottesville is bringing together people from across the region in its pro-democracy, anti-Trump activism.
Since inauguration day, nationwide protests have been a frequent occurrence during the Trump administration. Many of these planned area demonstrations, including Hands Off and No Kings Day, were organized by Indivisible Charlottesville.
Founded in 2017, the organization is part of the national Indivisible activism movement, publishers of A Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink. The local branch of Indivisible is independent of the national group, but takes cues from events organized and promoted by the larger movement.
And while it has progressive priorities, Indivisible Charlottesville is not associated with the Democratic Party, says Dan Doernberg, a facilitator for the organization.
“We want to hold our elected representatives accountable. And that involves Democratic office-holders and Republican office-holders,” he says. “Right now, a lot of our attention is focused on the Trump administration, because they’re doing some stuff that we really think is terrible. But when Sen. Warner was here [for a June 14 town hall], our people did a lot of research and asked him some tough questions.”
“It takes a lot of hours to have a well-organized event of any kind, whether it’s a protest or a wedding, or anything else,” Doernberg adds.
The volunteer nature of Indivisible Charlottesville makes it unfeasible to plan a local event for every national day of protest or activism campaign. As a result, the group has been deliberate in what it organizes for.
Amid security concerns surrounding the rise in politically motivated violence (like the recent incident in which a Culpeper man intentionally drove into protesters following a No Kings Day event), Indivisible Charlottesville declined to share how it plans the logistics for its events. Turnout has varied, with national demonstrations getting the largest crowds, but the group has largely seen an increase in engagement since it reorganized in November 2024.
Beyond the large-scale protests, Indivisible Charlottesville has also activated volunteers for info sessions and phone drives.
“We really feel, as an organization, that democracy is something that people have to actively participate in. And it’s great if your participation is voting every year in Virginia, but there’s a lot more to it than that,” says Patrick Jackson, a founding member of Indivisible Charlottesville. “That is making sure that elected officials hear your voice, that is holding elected officials accountable, that’s making sure that your friends and neighbors are getting organized.”
The impact of demonstrations can be difficult to directly tie to tangible changes in policy or representatives’ votes. Still, engaging more people actively in democracy has real benefits, says Jackson.
“Some of the biggest impacts we’ve had are activating people in the community to get more proactively involved. And I know that’s involved some folks … running for office, that’s involved people kind of starting their own organizations, or getting more deeply involved in local organizations. And I think all of those things are wins,” says Jackson. “There are people who come to events for the first time. … I think doing that building community as well is a really valuable thing that we contribute.”
Community-building efforts have included collaborating with other groups, including the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund and Sin Barreras. Rather than act as an authority itself, the group hopes to uplift other specialized groups with aligned priorities.
“We kind of think of ourselves as kind of an umbrella,” says Jackson. “We don’t have the deep expertise, for example, in some issue areas that groups do have. And so when other groups kind of ask us to participate, or are having their own events that align with our values, we try to do our best to be a good player in this community and help them amplify things that they want to amplify.”
Indivisible Charlottesville’s next rally combines its previous work of organizing local offshoots of national events and boosting other Charlottesville organizations: A gathering to support immigrant community members will be held at 5:30pm on June 26 at the Free Speech Wall on the Downtown Mall. It’s part of Public Citizen’s nationwide Disappeared in America campaign, and will be followed by a fundraiser for Sin Barreras.
For more information on Indivisible Charlottesville, visit indivisiblecharlottesville.org.
Featured photo: Eze Amos
