From noon to 4 p.m., the event featured more than 25 speakers, including Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

As Edevbie finished his speech, he spoke about challenging President Donald Trump’s power. 

“We can either stand up and fight, or we’re going to let Trump become a dictator and a king,” Edevbie said. “I’m always going to stand up, and I know you’re going to stand up for the America that we believe in.”

Following his speech was Lt. Gov. Gilchrist, who started with a chant: “When I say stand tall, you say fight.” His voice roared through the microphone, making it heard throughout downtown Lansing.

“I want the whole country to hear us,” he said. “From Lansing to the Capitol.”

Similar to many of the speakers, Gilchrist said he is exhausted with the current government leaders, calling them selfish. People are stepping into office only to figure out who they can hurt, not who they can help, he said. 

In an interview with The State News, Gilchrist said he attended the event out of everyone’s frustration with the lack of results they’ve seen from Washington D.C. It isn’t just the lack of results, he added, but the "destruction" from the Trump administration and his allies that is "going to lead to people dying."

“So, people want to speak out and say that they’re not here for it, and I’m not here for it either,” he told The State News. “Everybody is coming together and standing up for the values that we have. That’s the power of people saying that they’re not alone, that their frustration is not a singular thing. They have the power to make something happen going forward.”

As Gilchrist wrapped up his speech, he thanked attendees for standing tall for Michigan. He thanked them for being active, for organizing, rallying, making phone calls, sending text messages, and having arguments with people. He and the attendees raised their fists shouting, “I will, I will, I will stand,” as they cheered him off the stage. 

Former U.S. Sen. Stabenow spoke next. She addressed the economy, stating that Trump is going to put the country into recession. 

“I want to emphasize that Trump and Elon Musk cannot continue doing what they're doing to destroy our economy and the fabric of our country without the support of the Republican majority in Congress,” she said. “But we’ve got branches of government. So we've gotta make it clear that we hold every single Republican in congress and every single Republican in our state accountable for their actions.”

She spoke about the strength of the country when it supports the opportunity for everybody to start their own business. She mentioned that Elon Musk started Tesla with a government loan.

“Why do I know that?” she asked the crowd. “Because I created the program to help out auto companies transition to clean energy. Now, he’s making hundreds of millions of dollars right now off the government that he wants everyone else not to be able to benefit from.”

In an interview with The State News, Stabenow said she came to the rally because she’s concerned about what’s happening in the country. She’s worried about the group of billionaires that are trying to cut all the services in America to make sure that they can get the biggest tax cut available, she said. 

“I think people are upset,” she told The State News. “I think there are people here that normally don't get involved in politics, but they see what's happening. Their family's personally affected and their children are affected. They see what's happening on campus, what's happening to freedom of speech and freedom of movement in our country and due process, and they're outraged, and we have to take our country back.”

Stabenow was right — many of the attendees were protesting for the first time. One of them was Richard Cole, who said he attended his first protest to send a message that there’s a developing resistance, and that resistance is the only way to save democracy.

Another first-time protester was attendee Lonna Blask, who held a sign that said, “so bad even us introverts are here.” She said it got to a point where enough is enough, so she just had to go and protest.

This was Alice Hill's first time attending a protest in 50 years, after her daughters and granddaughters convinced her. 

“I've had a lot of compliments on the fact of my age,” Hill said. “They’ve said it's so marvelous that I would come out here in this weather. I really approve of what these people are doing here, and the world needs to hear us talk and complain.” 

Michigan State University chemistry professor James Geiger attended the protest with a sign that said, “don’t kill science.” 

“They are completely destroying science. Science is now dead in America, it really is,” he said. “No grants are funded. Grants that are funded, the money is being withdrawn. Graduate students can't get jobs. They have shut us down completely.” 

Lindsay White heard about the 50501 movement through Reddit before becoming a part of the steering committee for this event. As a police liaison, she joined because she found it empowering. 

“It has been wild, and so many people have contributed their time, their money and their energy,” White said. “It’s taken a tremendous amount of time and energy getting the word out. And you can see the response speaks for itself.”

Before White got involved with 50501, she felt alone and isolated, she said. Everything changed once she started to get involved in the community. 

“I want every person here to walk away feeling that they are not alone, and they have the ability to join collective action,” White said. “You don't have to sit around to take it. There are resources for you. You don't have to be by yourself.”