Emergency Rally, Dance Protest, and Collective Art Build to Resist the #LicensetoDiscriminate Executive Order

The White House will be left covered in biodegradable rainbow confetti, a massive banner, and pant stains from twerking.

WASHINGTON, DC. – Today, May 4, from 6-8:30 pm WERK for Peace, Queer Resistance, the Trans Women of Color Collective, and a number of partner organizations will take to the White House to protest the Trump administration’s anticipated #LicensetoDiscriminate Executive Order. The protest will take place on the North Side of the White House and will feature influential community speakers, reverberating music, biodegradable confetti, face paint, and a massive banner build, to be left on the White House fence. 

Trump is expected to sign the executive order today to coincide with the National Day of Prayer. An earlier draft of the order, which was leaked to The Nation, would have provided legal protections for people and organizations to claim “religious exemptions” on the basis of premarital sex, abortion, same-sex marriage, and trans identity.

The executive order, formerly titled, “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom,” will rip through our communities, specifically targeting and marginalizing the LGBT+ community, women, people of color, homeless, and unemployed individuals. 

Firas Nasr, co-organizer and founding organizer of WERK for Peace, states, “We are here to make it crystal clear that this executive order is not about religious freedom, but about blatant discrimination against our communities. We will stand in solidarity with one another, using art and movement to heal, connect, and resist. Whether or not the executive order is passed, we will make it known that we are here and we are watching.” 

Lourdes Hunter, from the Trans Women of Color Collective, states, “This Executive Order is just another opportunity to distract us from what has been happening to poor folk, indigenous folk, Black and Brown bodies, trans folk, immigrants, seniors and folks who are disabled and facing generations of discrimination and violence sanctioned by the state. This violence is not new to us. It is our role to ensure our communities are safe and have the tools to navigate a system that is designed to disenfranchise us at every turn.”