About 1,000 people gathered at 24th and Bryant streets on Saturday morning at the Day of Resistance march to protest the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump, part of a national weekend of action that will continue tomorrow with a protest at Civic Center.
The crowd stretched for several blocks and marched west on 24th Street, holding signs that decried Trump’s attacks on immigrants, reproductive rights, and climate change, among other issues.
“San Francisco is a proud sanctuary city,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, speaking at the beginning of the rally, standing on a flatbed truck. Chiu criticized Trump’s attacks, during his first term, on San Francisco’s status as a sanctuary for immigrants. He said he would stand against Trump’s promise to target sanctuary cities during his second term, which kicks off Monday.
“He said what we were doing was illegal. It is not. I tell you that, as your city attorney, because no human being is illegal.”
Susan Weyl and Michele B., who took BART from Concord to join the protest, said they saw far fewer people at the protest compared to eight years ago, when Trump was first elected president. “Last time, the BART train was full.”
“Things got diluted,” said Weyl. “Over time, we’ve just been worn down, and are just, like, ‘What do we do?’”
Their biggest worry, they said, is the loss of democracy. “You see the guardrails that were supposed to protect you, like the [U.S.] Supreme Court and the Congress and all these things, not working. You feel less empowered.”
Porsha Walker was at a protest on the Golden Gate Bridge on Jan. 20, 2017, eight years ago. She was more concerned this year, as Trump “will be more coordinated, and has more insight to be more effective” to achieve his agenda, she said.
But Walker is hopeful. “There are so many interests being represented today,” she said. “I see the women in pink. I see immigrant causes. I see free-speech signs as well. There’s a huge coalition today.”
“I was raised by feminists. I was raised by humanists. I was raised to believe it can be better,” said Kat Powell, another protester, holding a sign that read, “no words left, only screams” that she made on the train this morning.
Powell attended a protest in Oakland when Trump was first elected in 2016. Back then, the fabric shop she worked at sold out of pink fabric to make “pussy hats” about three months before the inauguration.
But today, she is concerned that “it’s gonna be a lot harder to fight.” Her biggest worry is reproductive rights; she is in the process of in-vitro fertilization, and worries that the procedure could be targeted.
“I thought the first time, we were angry enough. Unfortunately, I was wrong,” she said. “I don’t know if we can recover from that. But I’m not gonna quit.”
Starting around noon, protesters marched along Mission Street, where working immigrants were loading trucks, selling empanadas and cleaning up shops. The crowd continued along 18th Street and reached Dolores Park around 2 p.m.
City officials joined the crowd at the park, including District 10 supervisor Shamann Walton, District 8 supervisor Rafael Mandelman, assessor Joaquin Torres and former District 11 supervisor Ahsha Safaí.
“A lot of people did not show up today because for some reason, they don’t realize that this fight is about all of us,” said Walton. “It may not be your day today, but if you don’t stand up and fight with the community, it most certainly can be your day tomorrow.”
Ava Capen, 15, was at Dolores Park with her dad. Her family immigrated to the United States from the Philippines and Mexico. As part of the younger generation, she believes that “It’s really important that we stand up, and we tell the world that this is not what we stand for.”
“It’s just so powerful to see so many people, because it’s really easy to feel alone,” she said.
About 35 percent of San Francisco’s population is foreign-born, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As the protesters dispersed, Katia Padilla, the organizer and emcee of the rally, reminded the crowd the role that immigrants play in the country.
“They are the caregivers of your children. They are your house cleaners. They are the ones who build those homes you see around here,” Padilla said. “Remember that. As soon as they leave, we’ll see what happens.”
Speakers also urged protesters to “stay vigilant and stay organized,” not just on one day, but every day.
“I want us to remember today, because this is what unity looks like,” Walton said. “This is just the first step in the fight.”
Delusional malcontents like these were a major reason why Trump got elected…Keep up the lunacy you clueless ludlites.
You know why not as many people showed up for this march? Because they didn’t accomplish anything last time. Why are we still marching for the sake of marching? The march isn’t the power. You have to *do something* at the march for it to have any effect, and blocking light traffic on a weekend isn’t really doing anything.
And when your headline speaker is David Chiu… DAVID CHIU who filed a brief with the Supreme Court so that San Francisco could continue sweeping homeless people?!? No, you’ve lost the plot. We need to do more than just march.
“We need to do more than just march.”
Indeed, you need to develop more attractive policies and candidates, so that you win elections. The Dems lost 30 states to Trump. And Congress. That is pitiful.
If you’re going to *do something* at a march, can you please do it somewhere else?
Go break windows or spray-paint antisemitic slogans or whatever else you consider *doing something* in a red state, please. As the song says, go try that in a small town. Please.
Because the grownups here, 96% of us who voted against Trump, have to clean up your mess.
They’re here because they can. Their sense of self-preservation is too good to try that in a small town.
I could not agree more with your position/observation. I, for one, am a very conservative immigrant to this wonderful country. I have witnessed and felt the true sting of totalitarianism as manifested in the dreams of today’s utterly ignorant Left. I feel sad for these professional protesters. As you suggest, would that they get out, volunteer, put their shoulders to the wheel of advancement and participate…not just whine and complain. I cannot imagine going through life playing-out the sad tragedy of helpless victim. I can respect their sentiments, however opposite mine, if they show a scintilla of manifested effort on their part to “fix” whatever perceived wrong the see. Enough, already!
Does Trump know about this yet? Do you think he’ll resign because of it?
Hurray, a protest march in the Mission!
Surely Trump will resign as a result. Because we all know protest marches in the Mission accomplish so much!
(Sorry, I realize a lot of progressives are reading this and they aren’t very bright — I’m kidding, the march will accomplish nothing, but hopefully the marchers patronized local stores before heading back to the suburbs.)
What a useless bunch of 3rd World bohemians and radical extremists.
The rest of the country is sick of their antics.
Ah, if only the wretched vapid Harris and genocide-abetting Dems had beaten the vile Trump and the genocide-abetting Repubs, then these people would have been so happy.
We need to immediately stop Muni Service on Monday . Send all non electric buses to the borders . All operators mandated to head to the border . We need Muni buses leaving the border and arriving in S.F. .. turn around empty and repeat . S.F. stands with immigrants. Let’s lead the nation . ALL welcomed .