Feature Archives

In a two-day action, demonstrators called on Big Oil’s largest lender, Wells Fargo, to halt its financing of fossil fuels and invest instead in clean energy solutions to the climate crisis. They took their protests to bank branches in San Jose and Mountain View. On February 20 in San Jose, about twenty demonstrators marched into the Wells Fargo branch. They quickly deployed banners and signs throughout the bank’s customer area, then sang and chanted the message that Wells Fargo’s $172 billion a year financial support of the fossil fuel industry is destroying our environment. The following day, protesters targeted a Mountain View branch.

Critics say that Facebook is leading its 2.7 billion users down a dark road into an information environment filled with dishonest propaganda. On January 9, activists demonstrated both outside and on the property of Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. The words "Fake News Real Hate" and other slogans were projected on to Facebook's giant thumbs up "like" sign to call out the platform's political ad policy, which allows for paid advertisers to deceive the public.

On January 4, thousands of people rallied and marched in Northern California, proclaiming "US Out Of Iraq" and "No War With Iran." Various groups, including ANSWER Coalition and Code Pink, called for a rally and march in San Francisco before the U.S. assassinated Iranian general Qassem Suleimani near the Baghdad airport on January 3. That extrajudicial killing swelled the turnout in San Francisco while anti-war activists quickly announced similar actions at other Northern California locations then and throughout the month. A Global Day of Protest occurred on Saturday, January 25.

In September of 2019, the Mountain View City Council passed a sweeping ban that would close off most streets in the city to "oversized vehicles." Two days before Christmas, many RV dwellers got news that brought hope that they might be able to keep their mobile homes in the city, where most of the adults are employed. A referendum petition successfully collected enough signatures to overturn the Mountain View ban on RV’s. If the council wishes to try again to enact a ban, they must go to the voters. The earliest date for such an election would be November 2020. Meanwhile, there is no ban on RV's parked curbside in the city.

One of the largest demonstrations ever in the United States was the Women's March in Washington D.C. the day after Trump was inaugurated. Solidarity marches were also held across the country. On January 18, for the fourth year in a row, women again marched to affirm that Women’s Rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are Women’s Rights. The goal is to create a society in which women — including Black women, Native women, poor women, immigrant women, disabled women, Muslim women, Jewish women, lesbian queer and trans women — are free and able to care for and nurture their families, however they are formed, in safe and healthy environments free from structural impediments.

On the evening of December 17, the day before the US House of Congress was set to vote on Articles of Impeachment against Donald Trump, the nation erupted into hundreds of demonstrations urging a vote to impeach. The San Francisco Bay area was no exception. Organized by Indivisible, MoveOn and others, there were demonstrations locally in over forty cities and towns. The following day, December 18, the House voted to impeach Trump on two counts related to his scheme to get Ukraine to announce investigations into his political rivals: Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress.

On December 6, Bay Area youth groups led the local activities of the Global Youth Climate Strike. Organizations such as Sunrise Movement, Youth Vs. Apocalypse, and Students for Climate Action called for protests, marches, rallies and die-ins. Organizers of the Climate Strike wrote: The September 20th Climate Strike was the largest day of action for climate justice ever. On December 6th, as world leaders gather at the UN’s annual climate conference, young people across America will join a national #ClimateStrike to take the momentum from September to our elected officials’ doorsteps.