Oakland, CA – Over 10,000 people flooded the streets of Oakland this weekend, October 18, for the “No Kings” protest, part of a nationwide wave of resistance. From Wilma Chan Park to Lake Merritt, chants for immigrant rights, Palestine, and working-class unity shook the city.
Marchers came from across the East Bay, with union members, immigrant families, students and socialists forming a powerful broad front. Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Oakland, CSO Oakland, and Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression joined dozens of community and labor organizations, showing the kind of broad, disciplined unity needed to confront Trump, the ruling class, and their attacks on oppressed people here and abroad.
At the amphitheater, U.S. Representative Lateefah Simon and Mayor Barbara Lee spoke to the crowd, calling on Oaklanders to stay organized and keep fighting. But it was the people’s chants that carried the real message: “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!” and “From Palestine to Mexico, all these border walls have got to go!”
Banners demanding “ICE Out of Oakland” and “Free Palestine” flew side by side. Activists tied the struggles together: U.S. bombs in Gaza, ICE raids in our neighborhoods, and police violence in Black communities all come from the same system of imperialism and white supremacy that puts profit over people.
Danny Cela from CSO Oakland led a strong immigrant rights contingent, many of whom organize weekly barrio walks and tenant-defense work. Their chants, “¡Aquí estamos y no nos vamos!” and “The people united will never be defeated,” echoed through downtown.
Marchers called for climate justice, an end to deportations, and defense of trans and Black lives, all under the banner of people’s power. The message was clear, the working class and oppressed must rely on our own strength, not politicians or the capitalist parties.
The FRSO Oakland contingent marched loudly, emphasizing that the fight ahead requires building mass organizations rooted in everyday struggle – in the workplace, the schools, and the streets – to defeat monopoly capitalism. One of their chants was, “From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!”
Oakland has a long history of resistance, from the Black Panther Party to today’s movements for immigrant, worker and climate justice. Saturday’s march proved that spirit is alive and growing. The path forward is organization, solidarity, and struggle against every attempt by the ruling class to crush us. As one banner read, “No kings, no bosses, no billionaires – only the people, united and organized.”