Newsitem List
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Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Over Brutalization by SF City Employees
An abortion rights protester was removed from a Golden State Warriors championship game for attempting to display a banner that read, "Overturn Roe? Hell No." Kareim McKnight was strapped to a gurney and handcuffed, then injected with a drug called Versed by an EMT with the SFFD. In response, she has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco for violating her Fourth Amendment right to control her own body....
Posted: Sun, Aug 14, 2022 9:47pm PDT
After Court Ruling, Police Move in to Make Way for Construction in People's Park
On July 29, UC Berkeley's plan to tear down People's Park and construct a 12-story building in its place was approved by the courts. After midnight on August 3, police moved in to push folks out of the park, making way for bulldozers and other equipment. As a growing crowd of protesters fought to save the park, police withdrew and new fencing was torn down. Protesters then began to rebuild, using logs and barriers left behind as baracades to prevent further construction....
Posted: Mon, Aug 8, 2022 6:10pm PDT
City Hall's Hostility Toward Homeless Residents of Santa Cruz Spurs Vehicle Arson
Multiple city vehicles were set on fire and destroyed at a maintenance yard at Harvey West Park in Santa Cruz on June 2. Graffiti left at the scene read, "Leave Homeless Alone!!" and "Stop Sweeping!" City officials have estimated the damage to be approximately $300,000. The vehicles were destroyed in advance of the impending mass eviction at the San Lorenzo Park Benchlands homeless encampment, which the City of Santa Cruz had announced would begin in July....
Posted: Sun, Jul 3, 2022 9:36pm PDT
Reproductive Justice Defenders Hit the Streets in San Francisco and Across Country
Protesters spilled into the streets on June 24 soon after the much anticipated Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was announced. In San Francisco, protesters gathered en masse in front of the Phillip Burton Federal Building for a rally that morphed into a march with a sit in at Market and 8th streets. An estimated 3,000 people converged on the intersection while thousands others protested in other parts of the city....
Posted: Sun, Jun 5, 2022 2:16am PDT
Grief and Anger Over Mass Shootings Spurs Vigils and Protests Nationwide
Outrage swelled after two of the latest mass casualty shootings, one at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, and another at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Ten were killed in Buffalo, mostly African American elders, and twenty-one in Uvalde, nineteen small children and two teachers. Both shooters were only 18 years old when they bought the assault-style weapons used in the attacks. On June 11, Bay Area cities will protest on a national day of action against gun violence....
Posted: Tue, May 31, 2022 9:13pm PDT
Protests Erupt Nationwide at Prospect of SCOTUS Ending 50 Years of Abortion Rights
In a rare breach of US Supreme Court secrecy, a draft majority opinion written by justice Samuel Alito has been leaked. The would-be ruling makes a case for completely overturning Roe v. Wade, allowing states to outlaw all abortions without exceptions for rape and incest. Women in half of the states will lose access to safe and legal reproductive services. Protests immediately broke out across the country and are ongoing. Read more for updates....
Posted: Wed, May 4, 2022 9:43pm PDT
On March 8 International Women’s Day, People Will Rise Up for Abortion Rights
Protesters disrupted mass at St. Mary's on February 27 in costumes recreating those worn in the dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale. A tiny group of anti-abortion activists challenged the disrupters, but were overwhelmed by pro-choice demonstrators. The St. Mary's protest was part of a buildup of activity in advance of mass protests to be held on March 8 International Women’s Day nationwide. In the Bay Area, an abortion rights demo will be held at UC Berkeley....
Posted: Sat, Mar 5, 2022 9:07pm PST
Ukrainians Resist Invasion, World Responds with Protests, Sanctions, and Weapons
On February 24, Russia began a military invasion of Ukraine, claiming its goals were to "demilitarize" and "de-nazify" the country. Bay Area Ukrainians protested in San Francisco on February 26 and 27, many agreeing with calls for maximal NATO involvement. On March 6, Code Pink and other anti-war organizations called for a Global Day of Action to protest the invasion, while also pointing to NATO expansion as having contributed to the crisis....
Posted: Fri, Mar 4, 2022 2:20pm PST
Russian Military Buildup on Ukrainian Border May Not Signal Coming Invasion
As the Biden administration keeps up a steady stream of predictions of imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, along with shipping weapons and troops to Eastern Europe, anti-war groups in the Bay Area are responding. On February 5, they heeded the call put out by Code Pink and others to protest. Demonstrations were held in San Francisco (both at the Embarcadero and Speaker Pelosi's house), Oakland, Berkeley and Santa Cruz....
Posted: Mon, Feb 7, 2022 8:04pm PST
On Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Pro-Choice and Anti-Choice Demonstrators Face Off
The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion. Advocates for reproductive justice showed up on the forty-ninth anniversary of the decision to reignite the movement to control their bodies. Activists provided a counter-presence to the annual anti-abortion “Walk for Life” in San Francisco. Reproductive justice supporters rallied at the Federal Building/U.S. Courthouse, then marched to where Walk for Life was holding their opening event....
Posted: Wed, Jan 19, 2022 8:30pm PST
J6 Demonstrators Demand End of Filibuster and Passage of Voting Rights Act
On January 6, cities and towns throughout the Bay Area and across the country held remembrance vigils and protest rallies on the one-year anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol building. Demonstrators identified former President Trump and the Republican Party as responsible for assaulting democracy in an attempt to reverse the outcome of a free and fair election. Many observers view the country as never having been so divided since the civil war and fear a recurrence....
Posted: Sat, Jan 8, 2022 7:50pm PST
Protests at Whole Foods and AT&T on Day of Action for Reproductive Justice
As the US Supreme Court stood poised on December 1 to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, demonstrators across the US took to the streets. A new organization on the reproductive justice movement scene, Strike for Choice, said the date, which coincided with World AIDS Day, "is fitting because we owe so much to the Act Up movement that moved the needle on the government’s attitude towards powerless AIDS patients."...
Posted: Wed, Dec 15, 2021 9:35pm PST
Human Rights Abuses from Yemen to Sausalito Called Out at SF Federal Building
International Human Rights Day was marked on December 10 by a diverse protest at San Francisco's Federal Building, calling out worldwide crimes against humanity. Countries and policies targeted were the US-supported Saudi war in Yemen, fascists in Myanmar, Israeli colonization of Palestine, attacks against the free press, police brutality, and the US Supreme Court's attack on women. Protesters later marched to a second rally at Powell and Market Streets....
Posted: Mon, Dec 13, 2021 4:39pm PST
March and Rally for Medicare for All in San Francisco Demands Pelosi Take Action
On October 30, a Day of the Dead rally was held in front of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's house in San Francisco. It was at the end of a funeral procession from Alta Plaza Park. A mock coffin with "68000" painted on it was carried to remember the number of people who died this year because of a lack of medical care. The Speaker's house has been a frequent target of demonstration. She has been viewed as a captive of corporate lobbying, unwilling to enact real healthcare reform....
Posted: Wed, Nov 3, 2021 3:01pm PDT
Demonstrators at Facebook CEO’s Palo Alto Home Demand Zuckerberg Be Removed
On October 17, a caravan of 20 autos parked in front of Mark Zuckerberg's Palo Alto home so protesters could honk loudly and deliver a pink slip to the Facebook CEO while chanting, "Mark, You’re Fired!" The protest came on the heals of whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee. Haugen, a former Facebook employee, told senators the social media giant's products "harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy."...
Posted: Thu, Oct 21, 2021 8:06pm PDT
Dozens of Pro-Choice Protests Hit Northern California, Along with Nationwide Actions
On September 1, Texas’ anti-abortion law banning the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy went into effect, despite the 1973 Supreme Court ruling which established a constitutional right to this form of healthcare. Reproductive justice advocates in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country held major protests on October 2 and October 3, with the fate of Roe v. Wade and legal abortion on the line. Indybay has coverage from a dozen cities....
Posted: Mon, Sep 27, 2021 9:07pm PDT
Climate Protest Signs and Street Theater Shut Down San Francisco's Montgomery Street
On September 17, protesters hung a giant banner from Wells Fargo's headquarters building on San Franciso's Montgomery Street that accused the bank of funding climate destruction. Evoking the draft card burnings of the Viet Nam war era, a protester cut up her Well Fargo ATM card. With wildfires raging throughout California and weather "events" increasing in ferocity worldwide, environmentalist groups like Xtinction Bay Area are demanding that big banks stop funding of fossil fuel developmen...
Posted: Mon, Sep 20, 2021 11:23am PDT
Activists Set Up Tents and Demonstrate for Alternatives to Being on the Streets
On July 20, homeless activist Dez Martinez set up a tent on the lawn in front of Fresno City Hall and invited other activists to come through. She then put out a general call for more people to come by and set up tents on July 23. On the second day only a couple of tents went up, but around fifty supporters came. They demanded better alternatives to being on the streets. One of the activists at City Hall was Gordie Ochinero-Bermudez, who recently did a 450-mile bike ride to raise money for p...
Posted: Tue, Aug 17, 2021 2:44pm PDT
15,910 Square Miles of Critical Habitat Added to Existing Salish Sea Protections
Responding to legal pressure from the Center for Biological Diversity, the federal government finalized a new rule on July 30 expanding critical habitat protection along the West Coast for critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales. The population of Southern Residents stands at just 74 orcas. The National Marine Fisheries Service designated 15,910 square miles of new critical habitat, expanding current protections in Washington’s Salish Sea south along the coasts of Washington, Or...
Posted: Tue, Aug 17, 2021 2:39pm PDT
Yemeni Community Holds Memorial for Children Killed in US-Saudi Bombing in 2018
Members of the Yemeni-American community and world peace activists grieved on the third anniversary of the loss of 40 children whose lives were taken by a 500 pound US-made, Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led bomb. On August 8 in San Francisco, demonstrators laid down 40 pairs of shoes and 40 backpacks to memorialize each child's life. Speakers at the rally co-hosted by Yemini Alliance Committee said that the US government is complicit in the devastation to life and land as it continues to a...
Posted: Tue, Aug 17, 2021 2:35pm PDT