Houston's City Hall became the unexpected backdrop for a call to peace in the Middle East, as protesters advocating for Palestine demanded a cease-fire in Gaza. The demonstration, as reported by the Houston Chronicle, saw over 150 participants clad in red gloves and keffiyehs. They are protesting a recent Israeli military offensive that, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, has resulted in more than 34,000 deaths in Gaza since last October.

Despite Houston's vast population, the city isn't traditionally known for hosting large-scale protests. This week's pro-Palestinian rally and a smaller assembly of immigrant rights advocates diverge from a narrative that Houston is a "non-protest city," a label that local activist groups reject. In a statement obtained by Houston Landing, Daniel Cohen, chair of Indivisible Houston, says “I would never want to say that we’re not a city of resistance. People have done it, and some of that’s overlooked," suggesting that Houston's wide footprint simply shapes a different protest dynamic.

Houston's history as a business-centric city is thought to have a "chilling effect" on its citizens' propensity to demonstrate publicly. Fear of repercussions in the workplace, especially in an "at-will" employment state, could be a deterrent. Melanie Pang, a social work professor at the University of Houston, told Houston Landing, “Houston has always had to do things differently because the way business plays such a prominent role,”  indicating a struggle between capitalism and collective activism.

The physical sprawl of the city itself also presents an obstacle for organizers hoping to congregate mass numbers. Houston's vast expanse and the absence of centralization not only stifles the potential to shut down neighborhoods but imposes logistical challenges for participants traversing the city. This sprawl, paired with extreme weather and scarce public amenities, demands sacrifices that, according to both Cohen and Pang, create barriers for the many rather than the few.

Yet, Houston has proven capable of pulling off significant protests when driven by national movements or particularly resonant causes. The Women’s March in 2017, the March for Our Lives in 2018, and the George Floyd protests in 2020 were notably large for the city. Ashton P. Woods, co-founder of Black Lives Matter: Houston, hammered the point home: “There’s a lot that we protest for, that we fight for,” he said in an interview with Houston Landing.