Not a Doctor

At the NIH No Kings, a sense of momentum after a crushing year

Melody Schreiber

March 28, 2026

“When government stops serving its humblest… we serve and uplift each other. Look out, not up.”

Some 9 million people reportedly attended No Kings rallies across the United States and the world today.

About a thousand of them gathered outside the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Researchers and patients spoke about the importance of scientific breakthroughs — especially the long-term, team-based work done at agencies like NIH.

A year ago, Bill Bien woke up sick, with a sore throat and shortness of breath. He was soon diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma.

“It was like trying to climb a mountain, and I couldn’t breathe,” he told the crowd. “But I made it, and so will you.”

–‘No kings, just vaccines!’: demonstrators gather at NIH headquarters to protest against cuts to medical research, The Guardian

It has been a crushing year for employees of U.S. health agencies, with sweeping cuts to funding and mass layoffs.

But at the rally this morning, there was a buoyant determination; speaker after speaker emphasized the importance of holding each other up while formal structures have crumbled.

“I watched it all fall apart,” said Amber Lockridge, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) who spoke in her personal capacity.

The committee overseeing her research wasn’t just dissolved, it was erased, she said. Under the gag order, none of her grant officers could talk to her.

But she is determined to rebuild, aiming for “a better future for science — this is a light in my dark tunnel,” she said.

“When government stops serving its humblest… we serve and uplift each other,” she added. “Look out, not up.”

The rally was also a food drive for workers affected by the partial government shutdown, including unpaid employees with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

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I reported on the protest for the Guardian US. Several of the speakers pointed to the destruction wrought by health officials like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services, and Jay Bhattacharya, the head of NIH.

The last words from the event are echoing in my mind.

Anna Culbertson, one of the organizers, led the crowd in the oath of office that all government employees take: “I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” she said.

The crowd, repeating after her, shouted the last two words.