No Kings, No Party: How Shreveport’s Protest Exposed the Southern Democratic Void
The no kings protest aided significantly in the development of a protest culture in Shreveport, but they had very significant sort comings. The protest showed a serious problem with the local left.
Shreveport’s “No Kings” Protest.
On June 14th and October 18th 2025, the “No Kings” protests took place in Shreveport, Louisiana. The rallies took place in front of the Caddo parish courthouse, both events bringing over one thousand people in attendance; meaning two of the top three protests in Shreveport history took place in 2025 . The protest itself was a part of the largest protest in American history by single day turnout. These events were nationally organized by the Democratic party but the local Shreveport protests were largely the work of independent organizers. The size of the protest gave alternative political organizations and activist groups within Shreveport a large audience to engage with and recruit from. Tables were set up, speeches were given by you truly at the Akata-Tribune, and signatures were collected, marking a fairly successful mobilizing effort by the organizations present.
It should be noted the nature of the Shreveport protest is quite different from the national “No Kings” protest. Given the protest took place in an area (the deep South) that is surrounded and dominated by the fascist Republican party, the protest contributed significantly to the development of a protest culture in an area that has traditionally lacked one. This protest culture will grow as the liberal and left wing sections of the population become more accustomed to being a part of mobilization events and organizations. As conditions for the working populations degrade and anxieties increase, we can see increased attendance at these mobilization events along with increased frequency. The scale and quality of the mobilizations will increase as organizations increase in quantity through the performance of these actions. It is all in due time their foot will slide.
Our seemingly overly positive analysis to the protest to more radical readers is accompanied by historical and material analysis of our region. Shreveport is not New Orleans or Baton Rouge. Shreveport lacks a significant radical history and has a very strong history as being a center for Southern reaction. We were the last Confederate state capital of Louisiana from 1863 to the end of the civil war after the capture of Baton Rouge in 1862 and Opelousas in 1863. Shreveport was one of the last major metros to surrender after the civil war. Shreveport was also the bane of the existence of president Lyndon B. Johnson in his efforts to pass the voting rights act of 1964. Lyndon B. Johnson was the Southern reactionary Democrat who was pressured to pass the act by the growing and powerful civil rights movement and its allies. The “No Kings Protest” regardless of its hollowness, is very much ground breaking for North Louisiana.
Weakness of the Protest and the Democratic Party.
The protests are not without their faults, some of which are very dire. One one observation made at the protest was the lack of Democratic party presence. The protest, unlike the ones performed in D.C, Chicago, New York, etc. did not involve many if any democratic party functionaries. There were no elected officials except for a brief but insignificant presence of LaVette Fuller for her own social media machinations, and Sheriff Henry Whitehorn with his stationed deputies in neutral observance. This is despite the very moderate nature of the protest with chants of “U.S.A, U.S.A, U.S.A”, old women in animal costumes and a plethora of other non-radical seeming people in attendance. The lack of party presence shows how right wing the Louisiana State party is compared to the national party. This is one of the contributing factors to the extreme apathy seen among the population of Shreveport.
The Shreveport protests were not the result of the Democratic party. They were largely organized by the slightly more radical Democratic party base and organizations outside of the party: specifically Democratic Socialist of America, Shreveport Socialist League, Indivisible and others. This proves two points that the Akata-Tribune has been saying for years: one is that the Democratic party within the South is not a party, but a dysfunctional fundraising network for the black political class and the left fringes of Louisiana’s white ruling elite. There is no central message within the Louisiana Democratic party, no real party functionaries and no real intention on mobilizing/organizing its black political base. The task of mobilizing the black population to fight against Southern fascism is up to largely independent political organizations and individual organizers. These organizations are mostly in an antagonistic relation with the Democratic party, who view them as their true adversaries outside of elections. This is because many of these non-Democratic party left wing political organizations fight for either specific policies or alternative political realities hostile to the Democratic party elite. These goals include: the cause of socialism, a black nation state or even simple reforms like raising the minimum wage and government transparency.
The Democratic party did influence the content of the local protest. The emptiness of the party was on full display by the emptiness of the more liberal organizers and attendees. The hollowness of the event would have someone believe it was a state fair rather than a serious display of discontent. The appearance of those in costumes, chanting “USA” and the lack of demands from the national organizers shows that the protests were not a serious display of power. Protests with any meaning are the equivalent of threats. A powerful protest should give the message of “We are angry. Look at what we can do! If you do not give in to our demands, we will escalate”. All meaningful protest should be a call to action. As members of the progressive forces in Louisiana, our intermediate goal is organization, not mobilization simply for mobilizations sake.
The Southern Lefts Race Problem.
The protest shows the paradoxical race issue that the Southern left has had for decades. Despite the black population being the most progressive demographic in the region, the attendance of black people at these protests were minimal. It seems there was almost no attempt to mobilize the black population of Shreveport to be in attendance. This is despite the protest having a permit and a neutral police presence. The population of the protest was largely of the liberal white middle class, who has been the main left wing force in modern and historical Southern politics. Many of those attendees seem to be from out of town. There were some black organizers, but the protest was unable to bring out the black working and middle classes.
The black working class is the large bulk of the Democratic party’s Southern constituency and the largest left wing force in the South. It is a trend commonly seen at Southern protests where organizers seemingly ignore the black working class altogether in favor of mobilizing largely white college students and professionals. The white professional class is easier to mobilize given their tendency toward critical thinking and engaging with complex ideas at universities. But, you cannot seize power with this group alone! Seizing power should be the ultimate goal of any serious socialist (of whatever race) or black nationalist formation. In order for progressive forces to have a meaningful shot at seizing state power and moving the South toward socialism, the black working population needs to be engaged at every step organizing and mobilizing. This is a long-term process that requires full focus on the part of Louisianian organizers.
What Should We Conclude from the Protest?
Three points should be taken away from the protest. The first takeaway is the complete worthlessness of the Southern Democratic party. The Democratic party nationally have been the main enablers of fascism through their repeated betrayal of social-democratic politics and weaponization of identity politics. The Southern Democratic party has done the same, but is also completely disorganized and incompetent. The Democrats here cannot even mobilize their base to attend a protest that was sanctioned by the National organization in show of minor opposition to the current fascist government. Many of the Democrats in power are more focused on collaboration with their supposed opposition instead of fighting for their constituency. We simply need to observe the cowardly statements made by Democrats in regards to the National Guard Deployments, a direct attack against the black population. The Democrats that rule black Shreveport and Baton Rouge have denied that Jeff Landry’s threats are serious even though he has signaled complete seriousness on sending the military to occupy black Louisiana four times..
Second, the future of the anti-fascist struggle within the South needs to take an antagonistic if not hostile stance against the Democratic party. It’s clear they are an obstacle in the fight against Republican party fascism at best. At worst, they can be considered a neo-colonial ruling elite whose main purpose is the management of the South’s captive black nation. Working with or within this political organization will simply give the fascist more maneuver room as most of their opposition would be caught up within an incompetent, ineffective and idiot ran organization. Just look at the current state government, completely controlled by the Republican party because of the collapse of the Democratic party in the 2023 gubernatorial elections. The collapse itself is due to the Democrats being unable to agree on a decent candidate and sidelining very popular candidates like Gary Chambers. The Democrats have failed to even field candidates for a majority of the state legislative seats in the last gubernatorial election, allowing many Republicans to run unopposed.
Third, the black population and progressive forces need a new political organization. The Democratic party is not the vehicle for black political power within the South. It is not even the vehicle for progressive politics within the South. True liberation politics in the deep South will take the place of a national liberation struggle led by the black working class against American colonialism and Southern fascism. This struggle must take place against the Democratic party elite and the entire Republican party. A new political party, with the black liberation struggle as one of its primary objectives, is necessary to effectively fight the fascist domination of Southern politics. This is nothing new, Malcolm X talked frequently on the need for a black political organization outside of the Democratic party. With the collapse of the Democratic party as a cohesive entity within the South and its coming strategic defeat by the Republican party nationally, the need for one is at an all time high.
We need more than just words; we need education, then structure, then action!