On March 18, climate activists targeted the nation's fourth largest bank for protest, just in time to crash its annual founding day celebration. They seized the entire block of California Street between Montgomery and Sansome for three hours, shutting down a major entrance at Wells Fargo headquarters during that time. The action was the culmination of the March for Fossil Fuel Freedom that started in Palo Alto days earlier, a trek of hundreds forming a human billboard to demand Wells Fargo stop funding the fossil-fuel industry.

350 Silicon Valley spearheaded the multi-day action, gathering 50 partner organizations including Idle No More SF Bay, Rainforest Action Network, SEIU 1021, Diablo Rising Tide, East Bay Public Bank, 350.org and the San Francisco Mime Troupe. The 34-mile march included two overnight stops. Along the route marchers stopped at Wells Fargo branches to stage demonstrations. They left replacement signs for the logos at ATM's that read "Oily Wells," the moniker organizers gave the giant corporate bank.

Once in San Francisco, protesters engaged in non-violent civil disobedience by locking themselves to oil barrels decorated with slogans in the middle of the street. A rally in the road included chanting, rap music, singalongs, and speakers, all demanding that Wells Fargo invest in clean-energy solutions to the climate crisis instead of lending to what the bank refers to as "the traditional energy sector."

Wells Fargo Block Shutdown 3/18 Pt I | Wells Fargo Block Shutdown 3/18 Pt II | Wells Fargo Headquarters' Street Seized by "Oily Wells Fargo" Protest | Protesters Shut Down Entire Block in front of Wells Fargo's Global Headquarters | Pumpin' Up the Protest in front of Wells Fargo Branch in San Mateo | March for Fossil Fuel Freedom Starts Near Stanford | Wells Fargo has Dirty Energy Secret Activists Will Expose in Multi-Day Protest | U.N. Chief Says Climate Change Moving Faster Than We Are | Oily Wells website

Event Announcements: Events of March 16 | Events of March 17 | Events of March 18