Celebrating Pride, Denouncing Kings
By Eliana Klathis
On Saturday, June 14th, Claire Marchand, in Athens on a graduation trip with her mom, found a No Kings poster and wanted to join in. It coincided with the Athens PRIDE celebration and parade. Joining up with others at the Democrats Abroad Greece (DAGR) information booth in Syntagma Square, Claire explained, “I've always believed in the tenets of democracy and I’m feeling as though now that is under threat, with this president.
“It's really frightening,” she went on, “and I want to live in a country where I can freely express myself and I think now is the time especially to be speaking up against people who are going to keep that from happening.”
Later that afternoon, Claire joined DAGR members and other grassroots demonstrators to carry ‘No Kings Day’ protest signs in the Pride Parade. It was a response to growing concerns over threats to U.S. democracy by the Trump Administration.
The main purpose of Democrats Abroad “is to get U.S. citizens who live outside U.S. borders registered to vote,” says Stacey Harris-Papaioannou, former Chair of Democrats Abroad Greece and the organizer of DAGR’s participation at Athens PRIDE event. While DAGR’s efforts to get out the vote are non-partisan, Harris-Papaioannou added, “We hope that they also join up and become Democrats.”
Backing up that sentiment, DAGR member Judy Likuris, volunteering in the Syntagma booth, said the reason why she joined Democrats Abroad was because of the voting assistance and candidate information it helps provide.
But she appealed to her fellow Americans living overseas to vote. “There's power in numbers,” she says. “We are a big group of voters overseas … if all of us voted, it would really make a difference. Everyone needs to vote.”
DAGR has had a presence at the PRIDE event since 2016. In Greece, that year marked the newly legal status of same-sex civil unions. While rights are still recognized in Greece and the EU, they have come under threat in the U.S. With the Trump Administration’s recent assaults on U.S. civil liberties, the situation in America has become worrisome for many, as expressed: “Wake up, wake up. Because the neighbor that they’re coming for today, is going to be you tomorrow.”
This year, Athens PRIDE coincided with two official U.S. holidays … and one unofficial. Two and-a-half centuries ago, on June 14, 1775, the American colonies established their Continental Army, which would eventually become the U.S. army, to fight for the country’s independence. Two years later, on the same day, the Continental Congress adopted the first flag of the U.S. June 14 was designated as Flag Day in 1916.
Flag Day and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army also fell on President Donald Trump’s birthday. Warming to the idea, he planned a lavish military parade in Washington, DC. Citizens, noting the similarity to dictators’ self-glorifying parades, planned counter-events. Around the U.S., demonstrations were held in more than 2,100 cities and towns to protest Trump Administration policies. More than 5 million people (and with some estimates ranging up to 13 million) joined in the U.S. protests.
Overseas, Democrats Abroad helped organize peaceful demonstrations in 50 cities around the world in solidarity. Apart from Athens, demonstrations took place in major cities including Amsterdam, Berlin, Cape Town, Helsinki, London, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Toronto. The Athens protests were organized by the grassroots group Rescue American Democracy that was brought together by some DAGR members and friends.
Since 1964, Democrats Abroad, has been striving to raise funds and awareness among Americans overseas about the importance of voting in U.S. elections. With the Overseas Citizens Voting Rights Act of 1975, American citizens were allowed to vote from abroad for the first time. Since then, DA has served as a platform for Americans abroad to find information and get access to absentee ballots in the local, state and presidential elections.
Currently, there are around 5.4 million Americans living abroad according to the American Association of Residents Overseas (AARO – though some estimates say the number is double that – while only about 3.4% of overseas Americans voted in the 2022 general election. American citizens abroad can register to vote in their home states via www.VoteFromAbroad.org and other sites that provide the federal postcard application (FPCA) form.
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