A group of about a hundred youth activists marched through downtown San Francisco Sunday afternoon, combining themes from many protests over the last four years—Black Lives Matter, ending gun violence, LGBTQ+ rights, climate justice and reproductive freedom—into a single show of solidarity ahead of the election on Tuesday.
The protest, called “March 4 Our Future,” was staged by Youth Advocates for Change, a nonprofit organization founded by the 18-year-old Black Lives Matter activist Tiana Day.
Henry Shane, one of the lead organizers, said in a text that he hoped the march would “address every topic that’s at stake in this election all while amplifying the youth voice,” adding that “every issue and problem in our world right now will affect our future, so we feel this demonstration is the last chance for our voices to be heard before Election Day.”
The group marched from the Embarcadero Plaza to Civic Center, where they gathered outside the Phillip Burton Federal Building. As the protesters made their way into the courtyard outside the building, organizers who had arrived there early blasted the song “FDT” (Fuck Donald Trump), by the rappers YG and Nipsey Hussle; the crowd didn’t hesitate to sing along.
Signs at the march reflected the broad range of causes the participants aimed to highlight—two protesters marched side by side, one carrying a Biden-Harris sign and the other waving a banner for the Freedom Socialist Party. Nearby, a young woman held a sign reading “RIOT GRRRLS AGAINST RACISM,” while another raised a piece of cardboard with the words “Abortion is a personal decision not a legal debate” scrawled in bright colors.
But while the crowd was small and the causes diverse, the main message, Day said, was clear: “This generation is the most powerful and we will not be silenced.”
See photos from the protest below.
Photo by Gabe Castro-Root
Photo by Gabe Castro-Root
