Feature Archives

On March 21, an extreme wind and rain "atmospheric river" smacked San Francisco as demonstrators showed up and cut up for climate justice. Elder activists portrayed our anticipated climate future with street theater in front of Wells Fargo headquarters and sang out new lyrics to tunes familiar to their generation. A coalition of environmental groups that organized the event included a new movement of people aged 60 and beyond called Third Act.

The University of California Berkeley has the largest number of human remains of Native Americans, in violation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. UC Berkeley has the remains of at least 9,075 Native Americans that it has not made available for return. Only one percent have been offered for return, in violation of the NAGPRA law. UCB continues to hoard the remains and artifacts in its possession.

On January 7, Tyre Nichols was savagely beaten by Memphis police, dying three days later. The first Bay Area demonstrations were called in both San Francisco and Oakland upon released video on January 27. In the days since, a march was held in Oakland, an Oakland police cruiser was set on fire, and a rally was held in Menlo Park. The ILWU stopped work to demand the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal, joined by Tyre Nichols' siblings.

On October 27, Elon Musk purchased the social media company Twitter for $44 billion. He proceeded to gut infrastructure and slash workers, including unionized janitorial staff. Musk welcomed back avowed neo-Nazis while banning leftist accounts and critical journalists. A series of protests have been held at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco. A huge mural was painted on the street: "No Free Speech or Democracy with Oligarchy."

The year 2023 could have been a moment to celebrate the half century of reproductive choice afforded by Roe v Wade. Instead, post-Roe, women are resisting further attacks. On January 21, San Francisco turned out to counter-protest the annual so-called "Walk for Life," when thousands are bussed in to demand a total end to reproductive freedom. On January 22, dozens of Women's Marches were held in cities throughout the country.

CodePink hosted a demonstration and press conference at U.C. Berkeley Law School on January 11, the 21st anniversary of Guantanamo Prison. The demand was for the Biden administration to close Guantanamo, free the 20 men cleared for release yet still detained, and prosecute U.C. law professor John Yoo for complicity in torture. It was John Yoo who provided the legalistic rationale for torture at US prisons throughout the world.

Mink "liberation season" generally runs June through October in the US. This year, the season ran a little late, but turned out to be the largest in nearly a decade. Four mink "farms" across Ohio and Michigan were targeted by the Animal Liberation Front in November and December. Perhaps 16,000 mink were freed in the actions. Lion Farms, the largest mink farm in the US, is closing on December 23 as a result of the ALF action.