By Areebah Bharmal and Justin Doud

On Jan. 10, Kristen Jenn received an offer for her dream job. Jenn had worked for two seasons as a national park ranger at what was then Denali National Park and Preserve and had received news that she was being offered a permanent position at her dream park. All of that changed two days after President Donald Trump took office — when Jenn was told her new position no longer existed.

“I am an unemployed, disabled veteran, and Donald Trump stole my job,” she said.

Jenn joined hundreds across Texas to protest Project 2025 and the Trump administration as part of the 50501 Movement’s call for nationwide “No Kings Day” protests on Presidents’ Day. Crowds gathered at both the Texas Capitol and Houston City Hall Monday as part of the movement.

According to their social media, 50501 is a grassroots movement with no central leadership. The organization called for nationwide protests earlier this month on Feb. 5.

Monday’s demonstration, similar to the Feb. 5 demonstration at the Texas Capitol, covered a variety of causes. Protestors waved Mexican and American flags, chanted for women’s rights and denounced Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration.

“I want (people walking by) to see the community coming together and organizing and mobilizing because that’s what it takes,” Jenn said. “Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. all had amazing organization and mobilization, and that’s what we need.”

Demonstrators in Austin gathered at the Capitol before marching through the streets of downtown.

Miles away, hundreds more gathered in Hermann Square under the shadow of Houston’s city hall to demand change in Washington. The protesters raised many of the same issues as those in Austin, including advocacy for bodily autonomy and changes in the Trump administration’s education policy.

Rae Bryant, a volunteer with the Houston Suffragists Project, went to city hall to denounce what she called anti-feminist policies from the Trump administration. She drew heavily on Houston’s history with women’s suffrage, which includes a more progressive streak in voting rights compared to the rest of the state, in her remarks, imploring the administration not to go backwards in terms of progress.

“I’m here as a reminder to have courage; we’ve been at it since 1848, … we are walking in the pathway that our ancestral grandmothers walked in, … that work is not finished,” Bryant said.

Protesters circled the square in lieu of a march through the streets, yelling chants relating to Elon Musk and the need to impeach President Trump. Others, like Bryant, protested specific initiatives and cuts.

Emily Edwards, a teacher in Houston ISD and UT alumna, turned out to advocate for her students and their needs. Edwards graduated from UT with a degree in biological anthropology and was hoping to work for the National Park Service, but said she couldn’t get a permanent job with the agency because of funding cuts Trump instituted in his first term.

Now, after falling in love with education, Edwards is defending funding for student accommodations to assist students with disabilities and federal aid to public schools, which are at risk with potential budget cuts. 

“I think my students and their rights should be protected — students in marginalized communities often don’t have the (privilege to use their) voice to stand up for themselves,” Edwards said. “The more educated you are, the less likely you are to vote against your own interest.”