The Village Independent Democrats Fight Back Against King Trump

By Isis O’Flynn-Shahaf

In preparation for the October 18 No Kings Rally, The Village Independent Democrats, a local West Village political organization, hosted a pizza night and poster making party at St. John’s Lutheran Church on Christopher Street. Co-President Irene Kaufman explained her reason for participating, “It’s really about [Trump] consolidating powers in illegal ways and doing illegal things.” As representatives of social justice, political reform, and universal welfare, the VID is constantly preparing for their next move in the long-haul fight that is the restoration of democracy.

In the church 12 people sat at tables. They were using sharpies, water-based markers and No Kings branded stickers to decorate white poster boards representing their anger towards the current political climate. All of the signs displayed strong anti-fascist imagery and statements. The overall messages were: “America Has No Place for Kings,” “You Have Bad Hair” and “You Have Dicktator Energy.” Funny as they were, the seriousness of the situation was apparent.

As they munched on Bleecker Street pizza and black and white cookies, VID members and neighborhood locals discussed their fears and concerns for the future of America. Many are deeply disturbed by and terrified of the mass deployment of ICE agents around NYC. They are seen as officers who “…do whatever they want,” said VID Co-President Sara Kimbell who is also a member of the Downtown Nasty Women Social Group (dnwsg.org), which strives to: “…spark civic engagement, increase voter participation…elect Democrats and…shift the balance of power in order to improve people’s lives.” She is also an activist in the Grass Roots organization, as well as a County Committee Member for the Manhattan Democratic Party.

Community members in the VID are from diverse backgrounds, but the participants that night only included a handful of minorities.

The West Village has long been seen as a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community, where places like Stonewall Inn advocate for gay rights. Queer nightclubs such as Monster, Playhouse, and Henrietta Hudson, represent that the West Village holds no place for discrimination. The local church, St. Luke’s, mounts a gay pride flag on its building, and even hosts choral performances for PRIDE. Unfortunately, times have changed for the neighborhood. Kaufman says fear runs through the Democratic Party in the West Village, “The trans people, the gay people, the immigrants, pick a group, everybody’s scared…it’s a shit show.” As someone who has worked diligently on the reformation of the West Village, Kaufman has witnessed firsthand the damage of the Trump administration.

As participants worked on their posters. I asked them which political issue is the most important. They responded with a unanimous, “All of them.” Vice President Remy Kothe added, “I think everything is in peril.”

Kimbell, Kaufman, and Kothe, the leaders of the VID, have full-time jobs as political activists. Before the start of the Trump administration, their lives had more balance. Now, they find themselves fully invested in a battle that seems to have no end. Kimbell was a chef coordinator for the Center for Hearing and Communication until 2020 and an event specialist for GiveSmart until 2018. Kothe, who worked as an associate publisher for InStyle Magazine and Time Inc., is also a member of the Downtown Nasty Women Social Group. She says, “Many of us had hoped that after Biden things would become more normal…I don’t even know what normal is anymore.” When asked how she has been personally impacted by the Trump administration, she replied, “I probably wouldn’t be doing this like a full time job.” Kimbell said she had been up since 4 a.m. worrying about what she would be reading in the news the next day, “We live it, we breathe it on a daily basis…it’s affecting me now.” Kimbell says she is not surprised by the steps President Trump has taken since January, “I’ve been saying this since the presidential election in 2024. This is what America voted for…this is as advertised, and it’s disgusting and horrifying.”

The heaviness of hopelessness within America weighs on many people who feel that they have no power to enact change. The women of the VID are inspirational in their ability to spread awareness, remain resilient and encourage participation in the constant fight for democracy and protection of freedom. “I think we all know at this point that bodies in the street are very important…we want citizens talking back to what feels like an authoritarian regime…we want to make sure we exercise our right to free speech and protest peacefully…so we thought we’d have a pizza and poster party to get people excited about it…” Kothe claimed that according to a Harvard study, if you can get a tipping point of over 3.5% of the population (currently 342 million) to protest, that provides a real opportunity to push back against an authoritarian rise. However, Kothe also expressed concerns about the possibility of a declining participation rate in the VID events, “I’m not feeling that I’m seeing as much participation on this one as the last one.” A weekly newsletter is sent out to all subscribers with updates on upcoming political events, current news summaries, and resources to help the cause. Every month the VID hosts a meeting where political candidates and office holders come to speak about current concerns of the city. But at what point is the fight for reform not enough? When do protests, poster making nights, and rallies lose their power? Does the time for more aggressive efforts start now? And if so, what does that look like? In a time where constitutional rights are being threatened, communities like the VID fight to keep democracy alive, and the people of the West Village are not backing down.