Feature Archives

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.

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.

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."

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.

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 porta-potties for Fresno’s homeless population.

Unhoused residents and liveaboard mariners of the Bay Area and the state of California converged on Caltrans headquarters on June 22 to demand District 4 director Dina El-Tawansy cease and desist from displacing people living on Caltrans land, as well as people living anchored out on Richardson Bay in Marin. Speakers and musicians elevated the voices of the unhoused at the press conference. A reenactment depicted evictions happening to thousands of unhoused and anchor-out folks throughout California.

On June 29, the city of Sausalito cracked down with force on an encampment near Dunphy Park. Occupants joined by housing activists formed a line of resistance and shouted their demand to see a warrant. It was a tense stand-off that followed months of contention and a legal battle. Resistors fought bravely but were told their new home would have to be an area that is muddy and close to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ debris yard, where boats are taken from the water for destruction.