San Francisco, August 26th, 2017: By noon on Saturday, Harvey Milk Plaza was packed with a crowd of counter-protesters that numbered in the thousands. They had gathered in solidarity against the previously planned rallies by an alt-right group in Berkeley and Patriot Prayer’s “free speech” rally at Crissy Field. Although the “free speech” rally at Crissy Field was canceled, the counter protest went on.
The counter-protesters gathered at the entrance to Harvey Milk Plaza at Market and Castro streets. At the entrance to the plaza was a flatbed truck with a microphone and speaker system, which served as the stage for the peaceful rally. Protesters, donning bright colored clothing, shorts, big hats, boa scarves and sunscreen, carried signs printed with phrases like “Resistance isn’t futile,” “We are the heroes we look for,” and “I twerk on the haters.” The range of slogans signaled the mix between seriousness and jollity at the protest.
By 12:45, the street was filled with people and the speeches were well underway. In the opening rendition of America the Beautiful “God we need some grace from thee,” replaced the lyric “God shed his grace on thee.” The modified change in the lines was met with strong applause from the crowd. According to Juanita More, the organizer of the rally, “We are all angry about the same things…We are all against hate and bigotry…This is power, this is love.”
San Francisco police officers lined Market street, but no officers were visible within the crowd. On the north side of Market Street, there were a group of officers and their motorcycles ready for the eventual march to City Hall. Although there was a large number of police officers, there was no clear hostility between law enforcement and the counter-protesters. The officers wore regular street garb, not riot gear.
Patriot Prayer, the organizer of the Crissy Field protest, posted on their Facebook page that they will hold a “Peaceful Portland Freedom March” September 10th.
Juanita More, the organizer of the counter rally at Harvey Milk Plaza, has no events scheduled on her personal website.
