Entry-Level Activism

The first protest I ever attended was the 50501 Protest for Democracy on Tuesday, March 4th, 2025 at San Francisco Civic Center. In the 53 days since Trump took office, he declared the Gulf of Mexico to be the Gulf of America and made imperialistic declarations towards Canada and Greenland. Jeff Bezos, a prominent attendee of Trump’s inauguration and owner of The Washington Post, declared their Opinions page will focus on “personal liberties and free markets” after months of infringing on the paper’s editorial discretion and several high profile resignations. Elon suddenly became an arm of the government with the unelected power to fire federal employees, shutter essential departments, and access sensitive citizen data. Oh, and all the rioters who attacked Capitol Hill on January 6th, 2021 were pardoned by their supreme leader, Donald J. Trump.

At the time, I felt alone in my utter outrage towards the regime and the government officials who stood by, so I started protesting as a way to publicly express my dissent and meet like-minded folks.

Learning of Established Community Organizers

I attended my second protest a month later on Saturday, April 5th for the Hands Off Rally at San Francisco Civic Center. This rally was a huge gathering, organized by 50501 and Indivisible SF, a local chapter of its national organization founded in 2016 to resist Trump’s agenda. This was an extraordinary display for collective action. Civic Center was packed from the BART entrance to the steps of City Hall with people decked out in flower crowns, penguin plushies (remember the tariffs on penguin island), and anti-fascist apparel while holding protest signs of all causes. There was a euphoric energy of hope in the air. Speakers from prominent labor unions, rising political parties, and anti-fascist organizations spoke words of validation and hope to the crowd.

“We can either have billionaires or we can have democracy. But not both.”

Time to Get Hands On

I wanted to get more involved into civic engagement so I was looking to a regularly occurring meeting place of some sort. Two ladies I met at the 50501 Protest for Democracy, introduced me to the Tesla protests every Saturday. I found a Saturday protest at a nearby dealership and attended my third protest on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025. It was glorious. There were at least 100 people across four corners of a large intersection. I spoke to many people at the site including one retired gentleman, Ed. He drives up and down the Peninsula to support protest Trump. When Biden won the election, he threw away his signs, thinking his job was done, but when Trump started issuing executive orders in January 2025, he scribbled on cardboard signs and showed up wherever he could. Drivers crossing the intersection gave honks of support – some long and loud. We waved, whistled, and clapped back.

I attended the next weekend as well. This time, the crowd was smaller and for the first time, I experienced aggression from the opposition. Several cars drove by with passengers throwing up middle fingers or rolling down their window to scream. One white pickup truck swerved close to the curb to shoot up black smoke, once at the curb across the street and once at the curb I stood on. But I also saw many thumbs ups and aggressive honks of support. The movement was growing. Trump’s actions expanded in their scope and attracted opposition from more sectors of society.

An Imminent Threat Requires An Immediate Response

While the protests introduced me to the power of community organizing, it also swung me into moods of despair at times. To fight means to constantly think about everything that is going wrong in the world.

But when the Trump regime launched massive ICE raids in LA and then sent the National Guard and Marines to crush the anti-ICE protests, the moment demanded immediate action. LA might be glazing the world headlines, but my hometown, San Francisco, was also experiencing ICE raids. The most egregious were the detainment of several individuals leaving immigration court.

So I attended the emergency mobilization against ICE at 24th Street Mission BART plaza on Monday, June 9th, 2025.

Now this spontaneous call to protest resulted in a massive crowd. The SF Standard reported an attendance of 9K. We marched through a predominately Lantino district of San Francisco as the speakers rapped pro-immigrant and pro-Palenstine mottos in English and Spanish alongside a drums corp.

“Move ICE, get out the way, get out the way!”
“Viva, Viva, Palenstina!”
Money for jobs and education, not for ICE and deportation!”

The mobilization started at 6pm; We marched into the night past 9pm.

The People United Will Never be Defeated

As a young woman of color, I have never felt more patriotic. The U.S. and the world will not be ruined by the likes of Donald Trump. The people, empathy, and love will persevere.

My sixth protest will be the No Kings rally tomorrow, on Saturday, June 14th, 2025, at San Francisco Civic Center. I’ll be there to work towards an America that serves the working class, not the billionaires.