Oakland to Hakeem Jeffries: Do Your Job!

Photos: Leon Kunstenaar

Mobilized by Bay Resistance, Wellstone Democratic Cub, Food and Water Watch, Indivisible, Code Pink, and IEB, thousands converged on Oakland's Kaiser Convention Center to demand that Democrats act like an effective opposition to the the Musk-Trump dismantling of the Republic.

The message to newly minted Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries who was there to speak was clear as retired union leader and local activist, Millie Cleveland, noted:

“People all over the country are watching in horror at the flaccid response of Democratic Party leadership to the attacks against working people and our democracy.”

ln the San Francisco Bay area, unions are led by people of color and include many immigrants and women. They are known for leading the fight against the corporate and anti-democratic elite as inequality has continued to spread from Silicon Valley to Oakland and other East Bay cities.

Keith Brown is Secretary—Treasurer of the Alameda County Central Labor Council which represents over 135,000 workers and is also a sponsor of the Martin Luther King Freedom Center said:

“Unions stand for economic and social justice and are at the forefront of organizing against the destruction of democracy and the devastation of services for working families by this administration. We welcome the Minority Leader to listen to the voices of our diverse and progressive community.”

The rally featured numerous speakers who represent struggling families and communities while creating solutions to benefit all. Clarissa Doutherd, Executive Director of Parent Voices Oakland, stated:

“Working families' lives hang in the balance...but the solution is not more tax cuts for the wealthy nor the slashing of critical infrastructure upon which our lives depend. Representative Jeffries is invited to hear our stories and learn about our demands for resistance while enumerating specific ways that the Democratic Conference will dedicate itself to ending the onslaught against our communities. if the Party is unable to lead, the working people of California’s most diverse, most progressive cities will continue to demonstrate our ability to develop new ways to build a better world with or without their help."

As Walter Riley, well known activist and civil rights attorney says,

“This rally is a demand for bold action from Democrats in Congress.”

Demonstrators continued the Bay Area's ongoing protest against the Palestine genocide, enabled as much by Democrats as by Republicans. A "jail" for war criminals was set up, holding Israeli recipients of AIPAC's largess Jeffries ($1.6M), Pelosi ($617,000) and Chuck Schumer ($1,727,974).

One chant dominated the evening's rally: "Hakeem, do your job!" Other chants invited Jeffries to come out and address the crowd. He did not.

The name of the "Democratic" party contains the Greek root "demo" meaning "people". Perhaps in views of the disconnect between the Party Leadership and the people, the "demo" part of the name should be removed and the party renamed the "Crates."

See all high resolution photos here.