It was difficult to estimate the size of the crowd, but it appeared as a large as the largest of the recent antiwar demonstrations. By the time the front of the march had reached Civic Center, the tail end was still leaving the Embarcadero.

The days actions began at 8:30 am with a "cacerolazo" (banging pots and pans, a la Argentina) as a couple hundred activists on foot and on bikes played cat-and-mouse with the police in the financial district.

A large crowd gathered at 11am at the Embarcadero for the day's major march. People from all walks of life were out in force, including, of course, thousands of immigrants from Mexico, Central America, Asia, Muslim countries, and Europe. Anarchists, communists, and socialists were present in large numbers, along with queer, transgender, labor, and student contingents. Many parents brought out their children for what proved to be a festive and peaceful march, followed by an afternoon rally at Civic Center Plaza.

As evening approached, the remaining crowd marched to the Federal Building in the Tenderloin, for a rush-hour rally, joined by those who had not been able to ditch work during the day.