Melanie Kim, a 31-year-old graduate student living in Cupertino, noticed there weren’t any protests planned ahead of last weekend marking International Women’s Day in San Francisco which is historically marked by demonstrations supporting women’s rights and gender equality. So she took it upon herself to organize one.
“I looked, and there was nothing happening, so I decided: Union Square, corner of Stockton and Geary, show up with signs — and people did,” Kim said.
Hundreds gathered on the morning of Saturday, March 8, to make their voices heard, not only about women’s rights but about a range of political issues now roiling the nation, from President Donald Trump’s opposition to reproductive and trans rights to Elon Musk’s job-slashing efforts in the federal government.
“I feel like we have taken such a step backward in terms of women’s rights or rights of minorities in this country,” said Kim, whose initiative made her the somewhat spontaneous organizer of the International Women’s Day – Unite and Resist protest in San Francisco that day.
At the protest, signs reading “No Kings in America,” “Musk Must Go,” and “We Are Not Ovary-Acting” were held high, and the sounds of chants were deafening, blocking out all the usual noises of the city streets.
“Hey Hey, Roe Roe, Musk and Trump have got to go,” people shouted. “No Kings, No Traitors, No Fascist Dictators!”
A White House statement released for Women’s History Month on March 6 read, “No longer will our Government promote radical ideologies that replace women with men in spaces and opportunities designed for women, or devastate families by indoctrinating our sons and daughters to begin a war with their own bodies.”
But at the protest, all were included and represented. One protester, Sandy O., an activist musician from Woodland, said, “What is happening in the White House is beyond left and right.”
“This is a democracy versus dictatorship problem, and we need to be in the streets.”
The Women’s March began in January of 2017 as a protest to Trump’s first presidency. Since then, people affiliated with the group have continued organizing protests throughout the country in defense of feminism and women’s rights issues.
Ava, a 19-year-old San Francisco State University student, came out to show her support.
“I’m here for women’s rights,” she said, holding up signs that read, “Fuck Trump” and “Fuck Fascism.”
But Ava shared some disappointment that not enough people from her generation were coming out to express their disapproval of the new government in Washington.
“It’s sad that almost everyone here is old. In my college, everyone is posting on social media. But where are they? Nobody shows up,” she said.
“It’s like this at all the protests I’ve been to. The younger people don’t care enough to actually do anything about it other than post on social media.”
Ava added, “I don’t think people my age understand how big of a deal it is because when we grew up, we already had these rights. We had Roe vs. Wade. Older people know what it was like before women had these protections, but younger people don’t. Younger people take it for granted.”
Maurice, 53, said he also came out to support women and to make his voice heard in opposition to the Trump administration.
“They could be labeled as women’s issues, but I think they are truly privacy issues,” he said, adding, “I think it’s really important that we look at all of the changes that are happening so quickly in our country right now.”
“Most of the money and control of our government is now in the hands of a small group of technology companies, and they specialize in surveillance capitalism, so they make money off of us not having privacy,” Maurice added, referring to the many tech billionaires who have offered their support for Trump, either explicitly or implicitly.
At Trump’s inauguration ceremony, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were in attendance, as well as Musk, the world’s wealthiest man and now a senior advisor to Trump, who is leading the effort to dismantle federal agencies, from USAID to the Department of Education.
In fact, Trump’s administration is the richest in U.S. history, with over 10 billionaires in his cabinet, which has left many average Americans feeling disillusioned — and at risk.
“My body and my rights are on the line,” said Sandy, the activist musician. “I’m a queer woman. I’m a person on Medicaid. My healthcare is in jeopardy.”
“I don’t just care about me, I care about all the other people in this country,” she said. “I know that I need to fight for everyone to have a right to healthcare. On the right, they just care about their own healthcare, and they don’t care about the rest of us.”
In recent weeks, protests have been growing nationwide, marching against ICE’s deportation efforts, standing up for science, and disrupting Tesla dealerships to oppose Musk’s influence on the government.
Protest organizer Kim said there are ways to get involved for those who want to make their voices heard in the weeks and months ahead.
For instance, sites like Women’s March, Fifty Fifty One, or Indivisible contain information about where and when local protests are occurring as well as resources to get involved in your community.
“Don’t assume that someone else is going to take that stand for you,” Kim said. “Tell people your opinions, share your views, hold a sign. It does make a difference.”
