ANTI-TRUMP ORGANIZERS ACROSS the country held “Free America” protests on Independence Day. In San Francisco, the grassroots group Refuse Fascism organized a march titled “Trump Must Go NOW!” amid Independence Day celebrations. The march began at Mission Dolores Park and concluded at the intersection of Stockton Street and Green Street.
Over 300 Bay Area residents took to the streets Friday over the unpopularity of President Donald Trump’s recent passage and signing of House Resolution 1 — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The 900-page law is the administration’s budget reconciliation bill and would impose significant tax breaks and spending cuts that would directly impact millions. According to U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., it would affect low-income families, uninsured individuals, immigrants, transgender and LGBTQ+ communities, veterans and others.
For Californians, Medicaid would face cuts where more than two million Californians could lose their health care, and nearly five million receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits — or Calfresh — could lose access.
Protesters gathered to re-center the focus on empowering the American people to oppose the legislation’s impacts. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides analysis on fiscal issues, estimated that the law will contribute $300 billion in funding for border and national security enforcement. Meanwhile, funding for clean energy initiatives would be dramatically reduced and federal student loans would be adversely affected. At the same time, the law would provide tax cuts for the ultra-rich.
David Santos, an organizer with Refuse Fascism’s Northern California chapter, said he was committed to defending marginalized communities. Throughout the march, he emphasized “the power of sustained, nonviolent mass protests.”
“We want people to recognize the risks that are involved and to make decisions on their own, on the level of risk that they’re willing to take,” said Santos, standing in front of the park’s bronze statue of Catholic priest Miguel Hildalgo, a symbolic nod to the leader of the Mexican War of Independence.
“All major world religions have some version of the golden rule. All call us to share our resources with people in need,” said Rev. Millie Phillips of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco. She urged people to “welcome the stranger, to resist greed and lust for things we don’t need, to share our resources with everyone who needs them.”
In a written statement of support of the event, California state Sen. Scott Wiener declared, “as we commemorate our nation’s birth, let’s recommit to the fight against fascism, against fascist-in-chief Trump, and for our democracy and a better future for everyone.”
For many protestors, immigration was at the forefront of their minds, often tied to personal family histories.
There is no future in humanity in a fascist society.
Bruce Neuburger, RESIDENT
“America, are you awake? Are you finally seeing what I lived my entire life?” asked San Francisco drag queen Xochitl. She not only called out the Trump administration’s deportation process but also criticized his predecessors and their entangled history with deportation.
“My grandpa and my story are witnesses the horror of the immigration system that plagues our country,” said Xochitl, recounting her family’s experiences with labor exploitation, racism and violence. “Are we going to continue to do nothing, or are we going to continue to be in the streets? Because no matter where you are, immigrants will continue to suffer, even if we’re in a liberal enclave like San Francisco. Abolish ICE.”
Local resident Bruce Neuburger reflected on his own family’s resistance to Germany’s fascist history, particularly drawing parallels to the Holocaust.
“There is no future in humanity in a fascist society,” said Neuburger. He stressed the gradual erosion of civil liberties as a motivation for his political activism. “We need to build this movement. Whatever it takes. It’s up to us.”
As families also joined the march, Bay Area parents stressed the importance of intergenerational solidarity at this defining moment in American history.
“It’s a scary conversation as teenagers,” said local mother Paola Tello, “they don’t really fully comprehend what that means on the line — they have a lot coming their way.”
A local father who requested to only be identified as Johnson, marched alongside his daughter and wife the entire way.
“It’s important to remember that democracy is always fragile,” said Johnson, “Your life is fragile. You can’t stop the change, but you might as well have a part in it.”