A large crowd has come together this evening in Oakland for a candlelight vigil for Charolettesville. #wpxi pic.twitter.com/AV9phFW9J3
— Ryan (@WPXIPhotogRyan) August 13, 2017
Following a spontaneous and mostly peaceful march in Oakland Saturday night in response to the events in Charlottesville that day that briefly shut down a freeway, as well as a gathering in downtown San Francisco, more such gatherings sprang up around the Bay Area Sunday. These included another, quieter gathering in Oakland's Latham Square that the Chronicle described has having a quieter mood and older crowd than Saturday's march and included some 1960s-style folk singing and much quoting of Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
In San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza across from City Hall, hundreds gathered despite drizzly weather Sunday evening, according to IndyBay, carrying signs that read "Disgusted I Have To Say No to Neo Nazis; United Against Violence; No KKK, No Fascist USA; Trump/Pence Regime Must Go; My Grandfather's Relatives Were Murdered By Nazis; and Silence = Death."
Per the Chronicle, the event began with some speakers using an Occupy-era convention of a "people's mic" condemning the ACLU for endorsing the alt-right groups' right to gather in Charlottesville in the first place the ACLU has long taken the stand that all speech, including most hate speech, is protected by the First Amendment. But others shouted those speakers down and said they were there to mourn the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, allegedly at the hands of 20-year-old James Field Jr.
Similar vigils and gatherings, many organized by the group Indivisible, happened throughout Sunday in Berkeley, Point Reyes Station, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Mill Valley, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael, El Cerrito, Castro Valley, and Mountain View.
Fighting hate, racism, & fascism. #Berkeley #vigil #indivisible #Charlotteville pic.twitter.com/xmQOzdwrxY
— Sara Zimmerman (@Saraziesque) August 14, 2017
About 250 ppl gathering, crowd growing, at Latham Sq in Oakland for anti-hate candlelight vigil. Mood quiet, crowd older. @sfchronicle.com pic.twitter.com/aexovbc8gW
— Carolyne Zinko (@CarolyneZinko) August 14, 2017
In Berkeley, a march and a vigil after Charlottesville https://t.co/zyeL7vL0yb
— Berkeleyside (@berkeleyside) August 14, 2017
But in less than two weeks, we could be facing more street skirmishes and hopefully not, but very possibly more bloodshed here in the Bay Area. As SFist reported today, the Pacific Northwest-based Patriot Prayer is organizing alt-right rallies in San Francisco and Berkeley on August 26 and 27, both of which are likely to draw new-Nazi contingents just as rallies in Berkeley did this spring.
Additionally, an alt-right March on Google is scheduled for this Saturday, August 19, to protest last week's firing of engineer James Damore.