Activism

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

Published

4 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 April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”