Hundreds Protest Against Trump In Oakland, Berkeley
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A diverse group of about 1,000 protesters took to the streets of Oakland and Berkeley Friday afternoon to rally against the newly minted Donald Trump presidency.
As Trump's inaugural festivities were in full swing in Washington D.C., the gathering for the "march for the working class" kicked off at about noon in the Latham Square area at Telegraph Avenue and Broadway.
- MORE ON INAUGURATION PROTESTS: Washington D.C. | San Francisco | San Jose
By about 1:20 p.m., they had circled up Telegraph to 27th Street and then headed back down Broadway. Many children were strolling along with their parents at the peaceful protest.
Clark Allen, 34, of Oakland, said he attended because, "For me it's an act of solidarity. It's a therapeutic response to something that frightens us."
Janaki Sullivan, 32, of El Cerrito, walked in the middle of the crowd with a sign written in rainbow colors reading "We will not go quietly back to the 1950s!"
"I came because we all have to come together to resist and to stand together. If they come for one of us they come for all of us," Sullivan said.
Police mostly held back, trailing the crowd in cars, on motorcycles and bicycles and blocking traffic on side streets as the protesters marched passed.
Along the route, people popped out of storefronts and cafes to record the protesters on cellphones as they passed and to occasionally shout encouragement or applaud.
Marchers carried signs and banners urging people to resist Trump's political agenda.
"Become ungovernable," one sign read. Another declared, "This is the start of a revolution."
By 2 p.m., much of the crowd had gathered in front of the Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza to chant slogans and, later, to hand the microphone over to anyone wanting to make a statement.
As participants changed "Stand up! Fight back!" and "Trump Trump you can't hide, we can see your racist side" as another group of several hundred protesters headed on foot to meet them from a rallying point at the University of California, Berkeley campus.
Oakland officials are prepared for the protests to continue well into the night and more marches are planned for Saturday.
The city is advising residents and businesses to take some precautions, including ensuring outdoor lighting and security cameras are operational, parking cars in secure, off-site locations and brining in anything that can be used as a projectile, including garbage cans, signs, outdoor furniture and flower pots.
