The largest political rally in Colorado since 2008 focused on promoting
unions, LGBT+ rights, and civil service to fight against “oligarchy”
On March 21, 34,000 people gathered at Civic Center Park in Denver for the “anti-oligarchy” rally headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC).
It was the largest political gathering in Denver since Obama in 2008, and bigger than the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Notably, the crowd, which followed their 11,000-strong rally in Greeley earlier that day, was the largest rally in both politicians’ careers, despite it not being an election year. The rallies in Denver, Greeley, and across the country serve as a part of the public’s response to the actions taken by the Trump administration.
Opposing the rally and its message was Lori Saine, a Colorado GOP chair candidate and former Weld County Commissioner. Saine’s counter-protest only drew seven participants in Denver and 10 in Greeley, as compared to the Bernie/AOC crowd of 34,000 in Denver and 11,000 in Greeley.
Before AOC and Sanders made their remarks, union leaders spoke to the crowd. They were Liz Waddick of the Colorado Educators Association, a teachers’ union, Jimmy Williams Jr. of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, and Kim Cordova, who leads the UFCW local 7.
Williams Jr. said during his remarks, “There are 30,000 union organizers in this crowd!” and all union leaders present stressed the importance of starting, organizing, and joining one’s local union. The three union leaders combined represent at least 203,000 unionized workers.
Among the rally’s messaging were themes of union and labor support, pro-trans messaging, and strong statements against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s partnership that is currently razing most functions of the federal government.
Towards the beginning of her remarks, AOC said, “If you are an LGBTQ kid or family, we cannot throw you under the bus in order to win an election. In this house, we stand together.”
Joseph Bowman, an honors student at MSU Denver, said that “the leadership within the party needs to change in order for the message to become clear.”
“Sen. Sanders has been clear that he is not going to run for president again because he’s getting up there in age,” Bowman said.“So, what he is doing is mentoring Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and following the polls and indications that she is currently seen as the voice for this generation of the party.”
“I don’t think there’s enough of that mentorship going on inside the party,” Bowman continued, stressing the importance of cross-generational mentorship from both older, established politicians and the younger generation, stating that both generations need to work together.” Bowman is also the president of a student organization on campus that worked to elect the Harris-Walz campaign.
Bowman said, referring to his fellow students, “A majority of younger voters have concerns that are closer to home. They care about democracy and the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution.
“They care about the cost of living and not being able to really get ahead in life because they are being taken advantage of at every turn by employers, landlords, companies like Kroger that have since admitted that they jacked up prices because they wanted to, not because there was any real cause for inflationary concerns during Biden’s time,” Bowman continued. “They’re just greedy Republicans who wanted to make his economic policies look bad even though they were working. [Younger voters] care about gun control and not being under the constant fear that their next trip to the grocery store or even to campus could be their last.”
