The “Hands Off!” movement attracted over 3,000 people to Nashville, Tennessee’s, Centennial Park on Saturday as part of a national wave of protests against sweeping cuts on federal aid, DEI program rollbacks and reciprocal tariffs.
“Hands Off!” planned 1,500 April 5 protests nationally with 10 locations in Tennessee counties:
- Knoxville
- Nashville
- Chattanooga
- Cookeville
- Jackson
- Kingsport
- Clarksville
- Winchester
- Memphis
- Morristown
Co-coordinators Sanyiah Cathcart and Kim Spoon, with “non-partisan and progressive” group Indivisible, partnered with other state activist organizations like 50501, Unheard Voices of Tennessee and Third Act Tennessee to organize the protest.
Third Act Tennessee is a local independent work group of 60+ year-old climate and human rights activists.
“Some of us remember the very first Earth Day, 1970,” Jane Whitman, a spokesperson for the organization, said.
She also discussed the similarities and differences between protests in the 1960s and now.
Activists used to be more divided during the Civil Rights movement. But now, they help each other. Black Lives Matter has diverse, extensive support, and men fight for women’s reproductive rights, Whitman said.
Less than a mile from the Parthenon, thousands of protesters formed a circle and listened as Whitman, Reverend Dahron Johnson and Jennifer Brighton gave speeches into a megaphone. After the spokespeople finished, music played from large speakers as Cathcart, who is also Vice President of United Volunteers of Tennessee, and Spoon invited protesters into the center of the circle for a group dance.
Various ages, sexes, gender identities, styles and backgrounds were represented. A young woman with large shades and a tank top danced beside an elderly man in suspenders and a tweed hat. Colorful pride flags danced along to V.I.C.’s “Wobble” next to attendees in gray business suits.
Protesting through dance was nothing new to psychotherapist Jeannie Ingram, who saw the Washington, DC, People’s March. Dancing in protest is a catalyst for mobilization, she said.
“You get to show up, be who you are, make noise and dance,” Ingram said.“This, this is what protest is. It’s supposed to fire us up inside.”
The protest spilled into West End Avenue around 2 p.m. and lined the sidewalks on either side of the street. Cars honked to support the movement, and some passengers held picket signs outside car windows.
Susan Hamilton, an adjunct professor in MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry, came to the protest concerned about women’s bodily autonomy in Tennessee and the erosion of democracy. As an ex-attorney working in child welfare, she saw the gap between people’s needs and the bills passed.
“We need young folks to come stand up with us,” Hamilton said. “ I want to hand the younger generation something they can be proud of.”
MTSU alum Katie Conkin attended the event and said there are everyday ways to seek change in the community. Voters who opt for in-person voting send the strongest message, she said.
“I think we have to fight with our wallets,” Conkin said. “It’s where you participate at the local level.”
Choosing which companies consumers buy from has a significant impact on corporate decisions, she said.
Many protesters promoted reading and education. They encouraged college students to educate themselves on American history by reading books and researching local and federal government.
“Just getting involved and then learning the bills, learning who’s up for office and pushing your friends to vote, making sure they’re registered to vote,” Cathcart said. “That’s going to be the biggest thing.”
The Department of Government Efficiency shifted budgeting efforts toward thinning federal assistance programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Many protesters criticized Musk for cutting spending on government programs like USAID and defunding $1 billion in DEI contracts.
Protesters also criticized Donald Trump’s mass deportation methods.
Trump’s reciprocal tariffs caused a public stir, with at least a 10% hike on the average Most Favored Nation tariff rate, which is a ceiling rate on tariffs. Many Americans said tariffs would hurt the economy, manufacturers and workers more than they would help them, according to two polls by Fox and Marquette.
Trump announced that Elon Musk would leave his 130-day advisor position before it expires in late May.
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