Oakland denounces ICE and police on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Oakland, California
A crowd of 800 people packed Oscar Grant Plaza in downtown Oakland on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday for a rally sponsored by the Anti-Police Terror Project. A line of young demonstrators held a “Melt ICE” banner on the plaza steps, expressing public anger at the violent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement troops in recent raids.
Oakland, Jan. 19, 2026, MLK Day. ‘F**k your MAGA.’
Speakers at the rally included the parents of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Black man, and families of other young people killed by Bay Area police. A young Palestinian woman demanded an end to the shipment of U.S. military aid to Israel and to stop supporting genocide in Gaza. The crowd chanted: “Oakland airport drop your cargo, we demand an arms embargo.”
Oakland, California, MLK Day, Jan. 19, 2026.
After the rally, everyone took to the streets, including a truck carrying the parents of young people who had been murdered. Despite the grim reality of the deaths at police hands and the terror inflicted by ICE, small music bands, microphones hooked up to amps, chants and drummers contributed to build a spirit of inclusion and diversity. Parents wheeled baby carriages, and children twirled bubbles into the air.
