Hundreds of people marched and demonstrated in Downtown Walnut Creek Saturday afternoon for "No Kings Day."
Downtown Walnut Creek on Saturday looked like the Oakland Coliseum during one of the old Day on the Green concerts.
The biggest difference from a concert was the hundreds of signs with blue-state themes that ripped President Donald Trump, his immigration policies, his cabinet, his health care policies, his staff (White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller wasn't very popular)... just about anything to do with the current administration.
It was "No Kings" day in Walnut Creek, where people showed up from all over the Bay Area to be heard and commiserate with their anti-Trump brethren, like in hundreds (if not thousands) of other U.S. cities. It was peaceful, with barely any police presence, and it was loud. Some people used walkers, canes or wheelchairs to get around, but they made their points.
A crowd likely in the thousands was outside in the June sunshine in a packed Broadway Plaza, listening to people at the microphone, located just behind the Apple store. There was singing, chanting, even a bit of dancing, as the street was nearly impassable from Nordstrom south toward Macy's and west to Main Street.
Ginny Jamieson came from San Jose to protest with her daughter and granddaughter, who live in Walnut Creek.
"I'm terrified that we're losing our democracy," Jamieson said. "I am terrified we're going to be led by a dictator if we don't protest and say no and resist."
Jamieson took issue with President Trump's military parade in Washington D.C. on Saturday.
"I can't even put it into words," Jamieson said. "There's just no reason for what he's doing, other than for his own ego. It's costing millions, yet they're taking money away from children and people who need it with Medicaid. It's just so wrong."
Dan Houze of Walnut Creek said he was there because he wanted to remind people this country was built by slaves and immigrants.
"That means Lithuanian immigrants and Irish and Italian, and Scottish, and German immigrants, Japanese immigrants, Chinese immigrants," Houze said. "And, of course, African slaves. The country is built on the beauty of all of those cultures. The reason why we eat great food. We have diversity. We can dance different dances, right? We can have Italian food. We can have French food. We could have these experiences because we are a nation built on the holistic value of all of these people. We're one melting pot. That's what makes America great."
At noon most of the chanting, singing protesters marched down Broadway Plaza, up to Main Street, down Newell Avenue and South Broadway and back to the plaza. They stayed on sidewalks and were rewarded with dozens of honking vehicles.
Julie Liu of Danville said fear brought her out Saturday.
"I'm scared for my children. I'm scared for my grandchildren and the world that we are leaving them," Liu said. "My niece in another state is on Medicaid. It's the only thing that is getting (her) kids health care. She's making $15 an hour. If they lose Medicaid, those kids are going to have nothing."
In the stage area, Ira Mato of Pleasant Hill strummed his guitar and sang Woody Guthrie songs in the plaza, including a version of "This Land is Your Land," that prompted a big crowd singalong.
Kathryn Durham-Hammer of activist group Indivisible Resisters led about a dozen people in a mini-flash mob dance and Erika Coyne, also of Indivisible Resisters, led the crowd in a "No Kings" song to the music of Kool and the Gang's "Celebration."
Organizers say about 7,000 people attended the rally, protest President Donald Trump and his policies.
Congressman Mark DeSaulnier spoke about Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy of non-violent protest.
"We are going to walk through these streets of Walnut Creek, California, thousands of us, to send a message with our brothers and sisters around the country, that what is happening right now in this country is not right," he said. "We will not stand idly by, but we will show ourselves as patriots."
In a statement, Indivisible ReSisters Contra Costa said:
"Activities featured a life-size constitution and an actor dressed in a founding fathers costume reading amendments that the Trump administration is consistently violating. Attendees participated in a mass taking of a "Citizen's Oath" to uphold the constitution, an oath the sitting president of the United States is actively violating. Finally, the rally ended with songs ridiculing Trump's desire to rule like a king, a crowd singalong of 'This Land is Your Land' and a closing speech urging the attendees to continue their active civic participation."
There were no obvious Trump supporters at the Walnut Creek protest-- which wasn't the case at the Pleasant Hill "No Kings" demonstration.
Across Gregory Lane from the civic center, three badly outnumbered Trump supporters manned a table on the side of the road, with Trump flags and a box of Trump hats to sell.
Though he heard lots of abuse from passing cars and nearby anti-Trump protesters, Johnny Morgan of Pleasant Hill said he enjoyed getting to know a few people from the other side, two of whom were nearby, chatting with the Trump supporters.
Morgan said he was there to support his president, but also to de-escalate conflict.
"I made a lot of friends out here today. Really," Morgan said. "This young lady right here became a friend. She might have the opposite side but, I mean... we're not arguing anymore."
Morgan said he was called names and did his best not to respond.
"I know that we can all be a little bit less primitive," Morgan said. "Like I said, it got rough, but I made more friends than enemies."
Bret Baker from Pleasant Hill is a Trump supporter who said he was there for civic discussion.
"Everybody's out here having their right to express themselves. I think it's healthy," Baker said. "There's a lack of tolerance. And I think that's a society issue in general on both sides of the political spectrum. We've had people come up and have engaging discussions with us. And that's healthy."
Ellie Ramos came from Alamo to Pleasant Hill because she thought there'd be too many people in Walnut Creek. Though anti-Trump, she engaged with Morgan and Baker to see where they were coming from.
It's safe to say they agreed to disagree.
"There was a lot of anger from both sides and hostility from both sides. But I did witness a lot of peaceful conversations going on, and there were a lot of diffusions," Ramos said.
Ultimately, she said she couldn't get them to change their minds about Trump, no matter what he does.
"I posed the question to them, 'If Trump's coming for a certain group of people's rights, what keeps them safe? What stops them from being next?'" Ramos said. "Nobody's safe.'"
