All traffic headed from the East Bay to San Francisco was halted, and major delays were also created for eastbound traffic. The blockading vehicles were moved out of the traffic lanes by 5 p.m.
The protesters identified themselves in social media posts as members of Black.Seed, which describes itself as a "black queer liberation collective." From the group's announcement, posted on the Oakland-based Anti Police-Terror Project site:
Today, January 18th, Black.Seed has shut down the west-bound span of Bay Bridge. Cars are blocking lanes and individuals are chained across lanes to demand investment in the wellbeing of Black people. Motorists on the Bay Bridge can follow the action by tuning their radio to 107.9, a temporary radio station broadcasting the event. The action can also be followed on Twitter: @APTPaction
Over the last few years, we have seen San Francisco and Oakland destroyed by police murders, rising housing costs, rapid gentrification, and apathetic city officials. Last year, we saw dozens of police murders throughout the Bay Area; since June of 2015 in Oakland alone there have been eight Black men murdered by police.
Today Black.Seed celebrates and honors the radical legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Historically, our people have had to take drastic and dramatic measures to highlight the systemic abuses that harm our communities. 51 years ago, those who came before us participated in direct action in Selma, Alabama, to speak out against the harms of racism and oppression. It is this very spirit of resistance that flows through our lives and actions, in the Black Out Friday, Black Brunches, and highway shutdowns of today.
Black.Seed spokeswoman Mia Birdsong told KQED's Andrew Stelzer that the Martin Luther King protesters' aim is to "take him back from the whitewashed, sanitized, only 'I Have a Dream' rainbow coalition version of King and to really recognize that his legacy is a legacy of folks taking direct action and protesting and agitating."
Birdsong said 40 to 50 people had taken part in the Bay Bridge blockade. Police arrested 24 protesters.
"For us it was about kind of disrupting business as usual," Birdsong said. "The state of Oakland and San Francisco for people of color, for black folks, for other marginalized people is a constant disruption. "Our lives are being disrupted all the time by white supremacy and racism, and we wanted to do something that was going to be disruptive for a much larger group of folks."