‘I’ve never had to hide who I am’: 50501’s Colton Hughes

When Colton Hughes walked onto the state Capitol grounds March 4, he was just like every other protester there: angry with the Trump administration and wanting to do something about it.

A month later, he addressed thousands from the Capitol steps, sharing an improvised stage with state Attorney General Dana Nessel, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, and former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

“Two months ago, I was just like all of you,” Hughes said.

So how did Hughes, 36, a downtown Lansing masseur with a fear of public speaking, come to be a primary face of the newly formed Michigan chapter of 50501, a national grassroots anti-Trump organization.

In his words, he did it because he had to.

Sipping on a cup of hibiscus tea at Strange Matter on Washington Square, Hughes recounted how busy he had been in the last month helping form a grassroots activist group, submerging himself in paperwork and speaking to thousands at packed rallies.

“I would love to not be doing this,” he said. “My life was already busy enough. But this is where we’re at.”

The state 50501 organization began when a Jan. 25 Reddit post suggested coordinated rallies at every state Capitol on Feb. 5 in response to the Trump administration. The post was deleted, but the idea snowballed. The weekend before the would-be event, no one had taken the reins in Michigan to lead a mostly anonymous group to unite, find speakers and pull a permit only four days before the Wednesday protest.

The rally was a success, but the group that formed to lead it was ill-equipped to continue organizing. After the national organization 50501 declared successive days of action, another group, MI Resist, stepped up to lead rallies Feb. 17 and March 4. Meanwhile, some original organizers tried to cobble together an “official” 50501 Michigan.

When Hughes first got involved, it was to help set up a group server on Discord, an instant messaging app. From there, he kept taking more responsibilities until he found himself one of the leaders of a quickly growing community.

Hughes said it was his ability to show his face that helped him take a leadership role.

“It comes from me not needing to be anonymous,” he said. “You know, others have a lot more to lose. They have children, they worry about losing their job.”

As an established business owner, Hughes does not have to worry about being fired for his speech. Amid concerns that the Trump administration’s crackdowns have had a chilling effect on free speech, Hughes is ready to get even louder.

“I’ve got the privilege to be able to, and I feel like it’s important to be loud for the people who can’t or don’t feel like it’s possible to speak up right now,” he said.

A gay man, Hughes is concerned by the Trump administration’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ civil liberties.

“I’ve never had to hide who I am,” he said. “I marched for marriage equality when I was younger. I’ve been out since I realized I was gay at 14. As soon as I realized, I came out, and I don’t ever intend to go back.”

As Hughes took on greater responsibilities with 50501, the group’s scope expanded in kind. In under three months, 50501 Michigan has jelled.

“We’ve got a graphics team, we’ve got an outreach team, we’ve got press and security teams,” Hughes said. “Everybody’s kind of doing their own things and bringing it together. Like, I don’t have my hands in some of those teams.”

But the group has stayed grassroots, and many leaders are first-time organizers. Leading a movement without prior organizing experience has had its hiccups — after a protest and community cleanup last weekend fell through, Hughes said knowing when to delegate has been a major takeaway — but he has leveraged previous work and volunteer experience for 50501.

As momentum grows for grassroots activism, leaders across the country are learning to leverage their skills similarly. Hughes said he became interested in community work at the Allen Neighborhood Center on Lansing’s east side. Then, his time as a store manager at Taco Bell taught him to lead a team.

“It made me a professional volunteer,” Hughes said.

To overcome a fear of public speaking and address thousands at the state Capitol, he drew on experience leading tabletop role-playing groups. And despite being known downtown for his participation and leadership in business groups, he said people he does not recognize have begun to approach him and praise his speeches.

As frustration grows toward established leadership across the political spectrum, activists like Hughes are an example of how everyday people can become leaders. The implications are not lost on him: He considered running for the City Council but rejected it because of time constraints. But he has his eyes on a future campaign, and his dreams are big.

“I could see myself becoming a state representative one day,” he said.

Reflecting on the last two months, Hughes has found protests transformative.

“I’ve made so many friends, and they’re all genuinely just good people who care about helping each other out,” he said. “You’re going to find that there. You’re going to see like-minded people and it’s going to make you feel like you’re not alone.”

A main takeaway is that those feeling “scared, nervous or hopeless” amid the political climate “need to do something about it.”

“The only way to do that is to actually take action.”