[Image: Trump protesterrs march through the Castro in San Francisco, holding signs with slogans including “Not My President”, “Queers Bash Back”, and “I Will Not Be Silent.”]
Yesterday I joined one of the many anti-Trump protests that have been taking place throughout the country since Tuesday’s election. This one did not have a specific group or organization sponsoring it. We gathered at the Powell Street cable car turnaround, where a Christian evangelist was preaching “love” in the form of denouncing anyone who didn’t accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. We shouted him down, and started marching through the Tenderloin to City Hall.
[Image: Protesters hold signs reading “Not My President” and “Dump Trump.”]
[Image: A protester holds a sign with an image of Donald Trump crossed out, and the words “Love Trumps Hate”.]
[Image: A protester dressed as a vulva holds a sign reading “Hands Off Our Pussies”.]
City Hall was barricaded by fencing and police when we arrived, as expected. We stayed there for awhile, and I found my friend Dana, who hosted a Food Not Bombs serving I volunteered with for a couple of years. I was glad to see a friendly face, as I was in a terrible mood. We marched together for the rest of the day.
[Image: Protesters hold signs outside of a barricaded San Francisco City Hall.]
[Image: A protester wearing a Trans Lifeline T-shirt holds a sign reading “Not My President”.]
We marched on to the Castro, where we sat down in the street. A black woman (as far as I could tell) took the megaphone to address us, urging us to get to know the names of those sitting next to us, as we would need each others’ support. I appreciated that she was the first to speak, as I didn’t see many black or brown folks in this crowd.
[Image: Protesters sit in the street in the Castro, San Francisco.]
[Image: Protesters in the Castro are addressed by a black woman with a megaphone.]
We marched onto the Mission District, where we had another sit-down, and were told that the march would be continuing to the Ferry Building.
[Image: Protesters sit and stand in the Mission District, holding signs including “Never Again Not Mein Fuhrer” and “Remember Hitler Was Also Elected”.]
As darkness fell, we sat again on Market Street, near where the march began. One protester took the megaphone, saying that she was a child of immigrants, both Muslim and Jewish, and queer.
[Image: A protester speaks into a megaphone, surrounded by fellow protesters filming with cameras and smartphones.]
After over three hours of marching and demonstrating, we ended at the Ferry Building, where protesters again sat in the street, and offered the megaphone to anyone who wanted to address the crowd.
[Image: Protesters occupy the street in front of the Ferry Building.]
I’m glad that I attended this protest, one of many more to come. I expect that the resistance will only intensify as the inauguration approaches, and that police will become increasingly aggressive in response. We must be prepared, and we must organize with specific goals in mind so that these rallies aren’t seen as merely the venting of sore losers.
My full set of photos from the march is available on Flickr. I have uploaded them to Wikimedia Commons as well (alongside photos from other contributors). Please credit me as Pax Ahimsa Gethen if you use any of them, thanks!
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[Image: Sister Roma of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence poses under a rainbow bridge.]
[Image: The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus performs at the center.]
[Image: Honey Mahogany performs at the center.]
[Image: Indigenous dancers perform on the roof of the center.]
