A broad array of Bay Area groups are staging protests this weekend to denounce President-elect Donald Trump’s right-wing policies and what organizers identify as rising fascism, as well as rallies to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.
Protests scheduled across the Bay Area aim to highlight a range of issues, including: Trump’s plans to implement mass deportations and other anti-immigrant policies; the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which Amnesty International determined to be a genocide through an extensive investigation it published in December; the degradation of reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights; and the future of democracy.
Sign up for our free weekly newsletter for coverage that helps you understand how national issues affect life in San Francisco.
“Because of the new administration coming in, there’s a lot of fear and fear mongering in our communities,” said Katia Padilla, executive administrator at the Latino Task Force, who helped organize a march in support of local immigrants and the nonprofits that serve them, scheduled for Saturday. “And so we decided that we’re going to make a march to let people know we’re here.”
Organizers combined that event with another, called the People’s March San Francisco, to draw attention to a bevy of major political topics.
“We said, ‘You know what, it’s not just one fight. It’s all a fight,’” Padilla said.
Some of this weekend’s events are part of larger national movements, including protests under “The People’s March” banner — a rebranding of the 2017 Women’s March, a worldwide protest against Trump as he began his first term in office. The new name is “more inclusionary to folks who are marching for all different kinds of causes,” said organizer Kait Skye. As of Friday morning, over 900 people had registered to attend the People’s March San Francisco.
The following events are planned in the Bay Area.
Saturday, Jan. 18
- 10 a.m.
- 2263 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda
- 10 a.m.
- 790 W El Camino Real, Mountain View
- 12 p.m.
- Intersection of Crespi Drive and Highway 1, Pacifica
People’s March San Francisco / Day of Resistance March for Immigrant Community
- 12 p.m.
- Intersection of 24th and Bryant streets, San Francisco
Disability Justice is Beloved Community
- 1-5 p.m.
- Ed Roberts Campus, Oakland
Sunday, Jan. 19
- 1 p.m.
- 335 McAllister St., San Francisco
Monday, Jan. 20
- 9:30 a.m.
- 700 4th St., San Francisco
Reclaim MLK’s Radical Legacy March
- 11 a.m.
- Intersection of 14th Street and Broadway, Oakland
- This is part of a series of events about achieving Martin Luther King Jr.’s political goals, called Reclaim MLK’s Radical Legacy Week of Action. Click here to learn more.
People’s March — Fight the Trump Agenda! San Jose
- 4 p.m.
- Intersection of Winchester Boulevard and Stevens Creek, San Jose
