Feature Archives

A week before Earth Day was not too early for San Francisco activists with Extinction Rebellion who staged direct action designed to draw attention to the planet's peril. On April 15, they led a march and rally, shutting down 7th Street for close to two hours. Elsewhere in California there were Earth Day die-ins, dance demonstrations, and invitations to rethink waste and save trees. In Los Angeles protesters scaled the iconic globe outside Universal Studios; four people were charged with felonies.

Margot Goldstein and Rachel Lederman write: Our community institutions should create venues for genuine discussions about how to confront oppression. Manny’s does not accomplish the goal of “civic discourse” on social justice because it contributes to racist gentrification and supports the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The boycott of Manny’s is the community standing up to Yekutiel’s opportunistic attempt to exploit social justice for profit while perpetuating and supporting the destructive politics of gentrification and Zionism.

Venezuela has been in the crosshairs of the U.S. since 1999 when Hugo Chávez began implementing socialist reforms. Upon Chávez's death in 2013, Nicolás Maduro was elected President. Maduro's second inauguration was on January 10, 2019. On January 22, U.S. Vice President Pence offered Juan Guaidó the presidency of Venezuela and Guaidó then appointed himself "Interim President." Trump recognized the self-appointment, in effect instigating a coup against the Bolivarian government. Several protests and marches have been held in the Bay Area to demand the U.S. take its "Hands Off Venezuela." On March 16, thousands marched in D.C.

For more than a century, the Redstone Labor Temple has served as a hub for labor, social service, and non-profit community groups in San Francisco. The owner of the building wants to sell and is asking for $25 million. At the price the owner wants, all of the leases would rise dramatically and existing tenants would, in all likelihood, be displaced. On 6pm, Wednesday, February 27, organizers are holding a rally and community event to honor 104 years of economic and social justice at the Redstone and to work for a community solution.

On January 31, dozens of activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) put up “Caution” and “Danger” tape across the San Francisco Costco meat department in a protest of alleged animal cruelty and biohazard risk inside Costco farms. The activists were also protesting the criminal prosecution of two activists who exposed animal cruelty at Costco egg supplier Pleasant Valley Farms in 2016 and now face a massive restitution penalty. One of those activists, Paul Picklesimer, said, “If Costco truly cared about animals, they would thank us for exposing cruelty at one of their suppliers.”

On January 19, at women's marches throughout the Bay Area, the focus was on unity rather than the rift in the national group. Optimism was abundant despite a slight decrease in attendance over last year. The marches were not without critics who cited a lack of attention to the plight of the underhoused and other issues effecting women. Unlike the city of New York where there were two separate marches, however, a spirit of solidarity ruled the day. The largest marches in the Bay Area were in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Santa Cruz.

For the 5th year running, the Anti Police-Terror Project called Bay Area residents into the streets for the People’s March to Reclaim Martin Luther King Jr’s Radical Legacy. In Oakland, events ran from 8am to 8pm. San Francisco marched in honor of MLK and several labor unions spoke out against outsourcing and privatization. Fresno and Santa Cruz also marched. Other events were held in cities across Northern California.