Activism

About 200 Gather in front of City Hall to Protest Shelter-In-Place Measures

Published

6 years ago

May 7, 2020

Approximately 200 people gathered in front of San Francisco City Hall on May 1, to protest the stay-at-home measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. Bay area counties extended the shelter-in-place order through May 31, with select businesses allowed to reopen under specific conditions.

Event organizer Clint Griess, the Local San Francisco organizer for wehaverights.com, said he thinks that coronavirus is no worse than the seasonal flu. “This is government overreach at its finest…and we are not buying the hype,” he said. “The pandemic isn’t at all what they say it is and we are not afraid.”

Protesters held signs and chanted “open California now” and “fire Newsom” as cars drove around city hall, honking and donning American flags. One sign read “Stop lying to us, we are not China.” Approximately half of the protesters were wearing masks.

Joan Leone, a Bay Area resident and Trump supporter said she thinks that California should reopen immediately for the sake of those who can’t afford to lose their livelihoods. “This whole thing is about shutting down the economy hoping that that will prevent President Donald Trump from being elected,” she said. I’m not doing this just for me I’m doing this for all the people who need their jobs.”

Approximately 200 protesters gathered at San Francisco City Hall on May 1, to protest the extended shelter-in-place order and advocate for reopening California. Photo by Saskia Hatvany.

At least two healthcare workers participated in the protest. Rachel, a Bay Area nurse, said she thinks California should begin a cautious reopening as soon as possible. She said many of her coworkers had been forced to take furlough because the hospitals have been emptier than usual. “My job has been affected because people are not coming to the hospital and we’ve had to cancel surgeries. We should be quarantining the old, we should be quarantining the people that are high risk — but young and healthy people should have the freedom to go back to work if that’s what they choose,” she said.

“We’re not getting a vaccine for at least a year and a half. The longer we keep the shutdown going…the more people are going to end up unemployed, and the more people are going to end up unable to pay their bills.”

Across the street, San Francisco nurse William Gersten stood alongside a small group of people in counter-protest. “They’ve estimated that shelter-in-place orders have saved 44,000 lives, and as a nurse, it’s possibly saved my life,” said Gersten. “I understand that people’s livelihoods are being affected but you can’t work if you’re dead.”

Gersten said that the protesters should be directing their anger at the current administration instead. “One of the major things we need to do is come up with testing…and that’s where the Trump administration — the federal government — has failed. So if they are really pissed off…they need to focus that on the federal government and Donald Trump who is impeding people from getting tested.”

Today in #SanFrancisco there were healthcare workers on both sides of the stay-at-home order #mayday protests. Here is what two of them had to say. pic.twitter.com/KaNCbwqyJb
— Saskia Hatvany (@saskiahat) May 1, 2020

Saskia Hatvany

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Oakland Post: Week of September 9 – 15, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 9 – 15, 2026

Published

1 day ago

September 14, 2026

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

Published

1 week ago

September 7, 2026

Oakland Post

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Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association

The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”

Published

2 weeks ago

August 29, 2026

Post News Group

Dawna Williams, EOBA executive director speaks to attendees at the Black August Eperience on Aug. 21. Photo courtesy of Carolyn Flynn of EOBA.

By Jana Lang Propel Youth Reporter

Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association

The East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA) and Youth Alive! came together on Aug. 21 to share with their community all that Black August means to them.

Held on EOBA’s patio at 816 98th Ave. in Deep East Oakland, the two organizations hosted their second annual Black August Experience, featuring a food tasting, financial literacy and mindfulness workshops, and voter registration with the League of Women Voters Oakland (LWV).

Black August is known as a time to uphold the legacy of prisoners who protested their conditions by fasting, fighting, and educating themselves on the economic and political circumstances that contributed to their incarceration.

According to its website, “EOBA is a multi-service youth and community development hub that goes far beyond the ring. While rooted in the discipline of boxing, for nearly 40 years EOBA has also integrated robust programs in workforce development, food justice, afterschool enrichment, financial literacy, mentorship, and wellness.”.

The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”

Through Coro California, another leadership organization serving young people across the state for 80 years, they gained a broader understanding of Black August.

EOBA Executive Director Dawna Williams spoke about how much she learned about Black August from the youth who created it. “I let them educate me,” she said. Instead of talking about prison reform and mass incarceration, Williams and youth interns found that Black August meant so much more. “We would have done a disservice if we had just focused on who the people were and what their situation was…We tried to take their message from back in the day and make it relevant to the young people today. What do they need to know?”

Youth interns created and placed posters around the patio to help participants understand how traditional Black foodways, civic engagement, financial literacy, and the power of education are relevant to Black resistance today.

An EOBA member described Black August with Youth ALIVE! as “a whole vibe. “This year we added the Fun Zone for the kids, because you really cannot go wrong with a Fun Zone. I also loved seeing everyone chillin’ in the outdoor lounge, catching some Vitamin D and just enjoying a Friday evening together.”

The food tasting, a popular event from last year, featured traditional Black foods such as black-eyed peas, johnny cakes, and fried chicken. Led by Williams, the tasting included a talk about how these traditional foods were made and why they are forms of Black resilience.

The “‘Plate of History’ was a favorite of the online writers. “Fun, educational, and did I mention delicious? Our Taste of History cook, Angela Southall, served up some good eats while connecting food to history and culture.”

The writer also commended the “League of Women Voters Oakland for their civic leadership and for getting our young people informed, ready, and registered to vote.”

Overall, it was a “good Friday event in East Oakland,” the writer said.

Upcoming Black August events: Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The websites for East Oakland Boxing Association, Youth Alive! and CORO are sources for this report.

Jana Lang is an Oakland resident, teacher, gardener and poet participating in the Propel News Initiative.