
In the twilight hours of the Biden Administration, Bay Area organizers rallied more than a thousand in San Francisco against the dawn of the next, led by President-elect Donald Trump.
The event started at Civic Center Plaza at 1 p.m. and ended around 4:30 p.m. following a march to Union Square on January 19. It united more than 60 organizing groups under the “We Fight Back!” banner and was one of many similar events held across the U.S. in anticipation of Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Other rally locations included Washington D.C., Portland and St. Paul.
Organizers took turns speaking from a makeshift stage on the back of a truck, voicing their concerns about anti-immigrant policies, American imperialism and capitalist ideologies that they believe have been exacerbated by the president-elect.
“This demonstration is the inauguration of a mass movement,” said Luna Osleger-Montañez, a liaison from the Act Now to Stop War and Racism coalition. “And what that means is that the endorsing organizations such as unions, community groups and immigration defense groups are staying out in the streets, week by week, until we really show those in power that we mean business.”
In their speeches at the plaza and while marching through the streets, they also called for support of reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights and Palestinian rights.
Many of those listening, like United Educators of San Francisco member Yajaira Cuapio, expressed worries surrounding Trump’s immigration stances.
“As an educator, we are not taking lightly the threats that he’s making to make mass deportations,” said Cuapio, alluding to recent news of potential ICE raids in cities like New York or Chicago.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, 43,000 San Francisco residents are undocumented.
“We’re not going to allow for our families to live in fear and to be intimidated,” Cuapio added.
Others like Jesus Moctezuma, a Party for Socialism and Liberation member, say the potential harm from the Trump Administration reaches further than just immigrant communities.
“It’s against the working class, against immigrants, against all of us,” Moctezuma said. “So it’s really important for us to be activating the community and bringing us out in mass, not only to this action today, but in the upcoming years.”
Organizers passed out flyers and donation boxes during the event, while also guiding attendees to the many leftist organizations who were recruiting around the plaza.

Ellen Brotsky, a representative of Jewish Voice for Peace — an organization of Jewish people opposed to Israel’s actions in Gaza — believes that by expressing solidarity with other marginalized groups, she is also defending her own community.
“We feel that we fight anti-semitism along with all other people that are oppressed, so we build safety for Jews through solidarity with all other groups,” Brotsky said. “We’re here to support immigrants, we’re here to support labor. We’re here to support queer and trans people. We’re here to support women’s reproductive rights, because we know that all of these things the right is coming for.”
The event concluded with organizers asking attendees to join them on Inauguration Day, which coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at 11 a.m. at the 4th and King Caltrain station for another march. They also encouraged those listening to organize with them on Jan. 31 at the Oakland Liberation Center.
“We want to really make sure and emphasize that this is a mass movement,” Moctezuma continued. “And it’s gonna take all of us.”