Every Friday since February 28, the Beach Street overpass above I-69 has housed a group of people whose messages to passersby change from week to week, but the overall theme stays the same: they are advocating for the federal government and the Trump Administration to follow the Constitution.
“What motivated us, thinking back to the 28th of February was Project 2025 and the things it looked like he (Trump) was going to institute,” said Rosalind Salbenblatt, a Genesee County resident and one of the original organizers of the group that calls itself the ‘Bridge Brigade.’ “Every week since then, our message has changed depending on the current events of what is going on, but it’s just to get the word out about everything that is unconstitutional.”
Project 2025 refers to a political playbook published by the conservative Heritage Foundation laying out what, should Republicans gain control of the presidency, House of Representatives, and Senate during the November 2024 elections, they would do to dramatically reshape the federal government, curb individual rights, and weaken protest and dissent. During his presidential campaign, Trump distanced himself from the controversial proposal, but during his presidency, he and members of his cabinet have embraced and implemented significant portions of the plan, including hiring one of the Project 2025’s authors, Russell Vought, as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Despite the real fears and vulnerabilities many citizens feel in the current political landscape, the mood of the Bridge Brigaders is consistently happy, upbeat, and welcoming. They often have music playing, their signs are typically focused more on protecting constitutional rights rather than singling out any particular political party, and they even had a person in a Spiderman costume waving with them at their most recent gathering on October 10.
“We love it (the community they’ve built together), we all do,” Salbenblatt said. “I’ve had many people come up to me and say, ‘I just had to come because this is my people.’ We’re a loose knit group, but it is good to know there are like-minded people out there. We’ve developed friendships and we do things outside of here. We’re all going to dinner when we get done today.”
That spirit of inclusiveness has even brought people from outside of Genesee County to the Bridge Brigade demonstrations. Sharon Ruthenberg lives in Oxford in Oakland County, but regularly travels to Flint because the community the Bridge Brigade group has built is something she values and wants to be a part of.
“I feel like I’m actually part of a positive effort to confront what is happening in the country,” Ruthenberg said. “Because the other side wants us to react (negatively) and we’re not gonna do it that way. It’s actually pivotal (to build community) because when you feel isolated, like you’re the only one that is disagreeing with what’s going on, you feel overwhelmed. And so when I come here, there’s a hope, there’s an understanding that there are people out there that know that what’s going on is not right. That’s the biggest affirmation that comes from being with a group like this, it’s the idea that we are not alone and we’re in this together and we can cause a positive response.”
As with any political issue, the group experiences a wide range of reactions. They have many people who honk their horns or shout their support – a couple of people have actually even parked and came and joined them because the environment looked fun and inviting. Some people are indifferent. And there have also been some negative experiences, including one serious incident.
Mary McDonald had someone last week make a threat. But instead of intimidating her or making her stop participating, it only strengthened her desire to be out there.
“That just shows me we need to be here,” McDonald said. “Good people need to know that there’s a different way to do things, that not everyone has those negative feelings. We all work together.”
The Bridge Brigade has a private Facebook group that people can request to join if they’re interested in connecting with group members online and finding out more about events or other opportunities to participate in rallies. The group has also been promoting the fact that Flint will have rallies as part of national No Kings Day on Saturday, October 18.
No Kings rallies or protests are intended to push back on presidential overreach, particularly the Trump Administration’s consistent circumventions of Congress, ignoring court orders, and other ways he’s tried to expand the idea of presidential power to be more authoritarian and unilateral in nature than what was envisioned in the U.S. Constitution. Millions of people nationwide participated in No Kings rallies on June 14, including a few thousand at local events in the Flint area.
On October 18, there is a No Kings event planned in Flint Township from noon to 2 p.m. at 3191 S. Linden Road.
“It’s very important to all of us that are here that we carry that forward every week,” Salbenblatt said. “It’s so important that we get people involved and actually get them to understand what’s going on. So many don’t because they’re busy with young kids or work sometimes two or three jobs, so they just don’t have the time. But if they can see one thing or hear one thing from us that sparks an interest, that’s what we want. To get people interested in what’s going on.”
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