White supremacists, following a massive defeat in Boston, were again confronted with the prospect of mass protests against racism in the Bay Area. On August 26 and 27, many thousands rallied while only a few demoralized racists showed their faces.
Rightwing organizers had called a “Free Speech” rally to be held in San Francisco on August 26 and a “No to Marxism in America” rally for the 27th in Berkeley. Billed as a “Liberty Weekend” by Joey Gibson, head organizer of the far-right Christian umbrella group “Patriot Prayer,” the rally at Crissy Field in San Francisco was cynically described as “an opportunity for moderate Americans to come in with opposing views.” Anyone paying attention to Gibson’s past Patriot Prayer events in Seattle and Portland understood how these rallies served to provide a rhetorical cover for far-right organizing and violence.
Co-organizer of Patriot Prayer was fascist-goon Kyle “Based-Stickman” Chapman, a resident of nearby Daly City. Chapman was arrested the day before the rally for his attacks on anti-fascists in Berkeley earlier this year, but was released on bail the next day.
Those who stand against racism and bigotry, and did so in the thousands, were victorious in overcoming white supremacists groups like these showing that the real force capable of forcing racist bigots to back down is the organization and energy of real people who refuse to let racism stand.
Democratic Party leaders step in to silence resistance
From a position of perceived moral superiority, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee suggested in a memo released from his office that organizing to confront Patriot Prayer was the equivalent of “dignifying their display of hatred.”
A statement from the City Manager’s office in Berkeley went further to say: “The best response for those seeking to safeguard our community is to stay away … Please do not create alternate events near downtown Berkeley. Even if peaceful, nearby counter-events take police officers away from those intent on committing violence or damage.”
However, these proclamations rang hollow after Boston’s 40,000-strong counter-demonstration the week prior and the spree of cancellations of far-right events that followed.
Lead up to the actions
With the images of the brutal murder of Heather Heyer and the tiki torch-lit rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville still fresh in the minds of many, the movements began to act.
The ANSWER Coalition, National Lawyers Guild, Bay Resistance and other organizations, unions and individuals supported the International Longshore and Warehouse Union call to organize a march to Crissy Field. Organizations and individuals in the Mission District came together to support the call, titling their group “Frisco Resistance.” In Berkeley, the “Bay Area United Against White Supremacy” and “Unite for Freedom From Right Wing Violence in the Bay Area” coalitions organized multiple rallies and marches.
Throughout the week prior to the events, long-time activists and brand new participants attended work sessions, planning meetings and security trainings to prepare to confront the white supremacists, making it clear that the Bay would not roll out the welcome mat. Instead, it stood strong against racism and hatred.
As the weekend approached, Patriot Prayer organizers announced that the group was relinquishing its permit for Crissy Field and instead would hold a press conference at 2 p.m. on August 26 at Alamo Square Park. Amber Cummings, leading organizer of Berkeley’s “No to Marxism in America” rally, announced that the rally would be cancelled and begged those who planned on attending not to come. Attempting to wiggle their way around an inevitable defeat, Cummings and Gibson each cried victim and pathetically blamed everything and everyone from Antifa to Nancy Pelosi.
San Francisco
Organizers in San Francisco remained very fluid as new information came in, and swiftly organized a counter-protest for 11 a.m. at Alamo Square Park. The ANSWER Coalition sent a notice to thousands of supporters asking them to mobilize instead for Alamo Square Park, provided sound and helped to organize a march along with Frisco Resistance.
A group of protesters who arrived early made it to the corner of the park, which had been completely fenced-off with a heavy police presence blocking the entrance. Those arriving later were met with a barricaded two-block perimeter guarded by armored police units. Thousands more poured in, forcing police to clear the way, resulting in a “victory rally” outside the park with no Patriot Prayer members in sight.
A number of radical speakers brought important perspective to the rally. Nathalie Hrizi, People’s Congress of Resistance organizer and public school teacher in the city’s Mission District, stated:
“In Charlottesville, the city and the politicians, they all said, ‘Stay away … if you go and confront the white supremacists, you’re giving them an audience,’ and in Charlottesville we still came out strong, and people died, they put their life on the line to say ‘get out of here now.’ Then in Boston 40,000 of us came out, and the mayor the day before had a press conference where he said ‘stay away, you’re just giving them an audience.’ But when we came out what happened? They [the alt-right] had to be escorted out by the cops, and we should never forget what the cops did in Charlottesville, and then what they did in Boston, and then what they would’ve done here if we would’ve let them.
“They go hand-in-hand … the cops are just the Nazis in uniform when it really comes down to it. They stand with the white supremacists … they come into our communities and beat up our kids, and they kill them, and they put them in detention centers, that’s what they do to our kids, my students. So we should never back down when they say ‘stay away.’ We’re not giving them an audience, we’re making a space for us.”
Maile Hampton of the Party for Socialism and Liberation reminded the crowd what happened only a year ago:
“Let’s remember what happened at our [state] capitol last year, when 25-30 Nazis came out, and our people, our antifascists, from all walks of life came out to confront them, and what did the cops do? They took away our banners, they took away everything from us, they let the Nazis have their javelins, knives, and they stabbed nine of our people. People looked at the cops and asked why they were just standing there, and the cops said, ‘This was our order. If we could do anything about it, we would have.’ If your job prevents you from protecting the people from white supremacists, you need to quit right now …
We need to always come out in the face of the Nazis, in the face of the KKK, and make them know that we will never stay at home, we will never be complicit like everybody tells us to do, because if we do that, they’re gonna come out stronger in more numbers.”
A march into the Mission District followed the rally, where performances by local artists closed out the action. The rest of the day saw Patriot Prayer and affiliated “Alt-Right” members in small groups confronted wherever they appeared. As the march arrived in the Mission, thousands whom had gathered at Harvey Milk Plaza began marching down Market street to Civic Center. Other actions took place throughout the city.
Berkeley
On the 27th, two large contingents marched onto opposite ends of MLK Civic Center Park where the “No to Marxism In America” rally drew Joey Gibson, a handful of fascists and their sympathizers. A gang of cops on motorcycles aggressively drove through the contingent that I was in. Their intent was to head off the march at the park so counter-protesters couldn’t be allowed in.
The march was diverted and by the time it wound its way back to the park, the other contingent that had cleared police barricades had the last of the white supremacists quite literally on the run. They sped off in their cars and others could be found cowering for protection behind police lines.
‘We do not want the alt-right in our city’
The next day, groups that organized the contingent responsible for taking back the park in Berkeley and sending the fascists fleeing held a press conference to make their stance clear.
Michael McBride, a faith leader of The Way Church in Berkeley said, “We have no regrets for how they left our city. We do not want white supremacists in our city. We do not want neo-nazis in our city. We do not want the alt-right in our city.”
Sarah Kershnar of the National Lawyers Guild said, “Our experience on the streets was that we were defended by people who came as anti-fascists.” Tur-Ha Ak of the Anti Police Terror Project noted, “We don’t apologize for any of it. Do not come here. It is unwelcome. We have a right and an obligation to self-defense. Period.”
In two days of action and organization, the people of the Bay Area sent a clear message to the racist, hate-mongering white supremacists who feel emboldened by the Trump administrations openly racist and anti-people program—you and your racism are not welcome here and will be confronted at every turn.
