Bay Area Turns to Protest and Service on MLK Day Amid Trump Immigration Policies

Ninety-seven years after the birth of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., communities in the Bay Area will celebrate the legendary civil rights activist’s legacy by making their voices heard, amid the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs and deport historic numbers of immigrants.

“This year is not just about honoring history, it’s about practicing for the future,” said Gina Fromer, CEO of San Francisco social justice organization GLIDE. “I have no doubt that we need to march many times this year in defense of our rights. Dr. King said hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Fromer said GLIDE’s annual march, which gathers at the San Francisco Caltrain station at Fourth and King Streets and has been a local tradition for 41 years, is intended to mirror the Selma to Montgomery protest marches of 1965.

Across the Bay Area, activists are seizing the moment and transforming what is typically a yearly opportunity to give back through acts of service into a day of political action. Throughout the Bay Area, residents are honoring MLK’s desire to strengthen community and building local resilience through shoreline cleanups, food distributions and interfaith gatherings.

This year, Fromer said, Glide’s march will advocate for “radical inclusivity” at a time when the rights of LGBTQ+, unhoused and immigrant communities are threatened. She noted that the current administration’s attacks make the late leader’s message of “unconditional love” more important than ever.

In the East Bay, the Freedmen Federation and Faith In Action East Bay have organized a Unity Vigil at Richmond’s City Hall to address what they call “state-sanctioned violence.”

Kira Lee, a professor and organizer with the collective, said the recent death of Los Angeles resident and U.S. citizen Keith Porter Jr. in ICE custody and sightings of federal immigration agents in Richmond have made it impossible to separate the holiday from the current political moment.

Lee called the surge in enforcement an “exercise in othering” that targets residents across race and citizenship status. “I don’t view this as an immigration issue. I view this as a racial issue,” Lee said.

“I view it as slave catching, where state violence is being used to decide who belongs and who doesn’t. Black and brown families have been screaming for protection this entire time.”

In the tradition of giving back, South Berkeley high school students with the youth design nonprofit Girls Garage will unveil their renovation of a home for an older Black couple this weekend.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday will mark the culmination of a year-long project to repair damage done by an unlicensed contractor that had left the family home unlivable and them at risk of displacement.

Emily Pilloton-Lam, the nonprofit’s founder, said that community-led projects offer people realistic ways to take action during periods of national uncertainty. And encouraging young women and gender-expansive youth to lead the remodel, she said, sends a powerful message.

“It is a very, very difficult time to maintain hope when we see what’s going on all over the country,” Pilloton-Lam said. “Projects like this bring us back down to a really human scale of one family, one neighbor and local organizations. It’s a reminder that we still can make a really big difference in the lives of individuals in our immediate community.”

While President Donald Trump scrapped free entry to National Parks on MLK Day, adding his own birthday to the calendar, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that visitors can enjoy free entry at more than 200 of California’s state parks for MLK Day.

“Dr. King’s legacy deserves to be honored, not erased,” Newsom said in a statement. “I’m encouraging all Californians to get outside on MLK Day, spend time in nature, reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, and reaffirm our commitment to advancing civil rights for all.”

Sheila Fritz, a program manager for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, said for the MLK Day of Service on Monday, volunteers will gather at Fort Mason’s Black Point Historic Gardens to remove invasive species and revegetate the historic garden pathways with native plants.