Key points:
- Hundreds gather in Oakland to denounce Trump’s gerrymandering in Texas.
- Diverse coalition pledges to resist Republican campaign to erase votes and suppress representation.
- California voters will soon decide on a new congressional map in November.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Hundreds of Bay Area residents gathered Saturday at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater to denounce President Donald Trump’s attempt to gerrymander Texas and warn that his effort to undermine democracy could spread across the country.
Organizers estimated the crowd at between 350 and 400 people, a diverse coalition of labor unions, students, faith leaders, elected officials and community activists who pledged to resist what they called a coordinated Republican campaign to erase votes and suppress representation.
Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas told the crowd that the stakes could not be clearer. “Trump and his Republican allies are trying to steal the 2026 election by redrawing districts in their favor and attacking voting rights,” Bas said. “This attack on our democracy may have started in Texas, but without immediate action, it can sweep dangerously across our country.”
The rally came as Trump-backed legislators in Texas moved forward with a mid-decade redistricting plan designed to eliminate Democratic seats. In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed last week that California would counter by redrawing its own congressional lines. He has since released a new map, which voters will consider in a special election this November. If approved, the new plan would add several Democratic congressional seats to offset Texas’ shift.
Valarie Bachelor of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, who emceed the event, said the state had to rise to the moment. “California needs to be a bold and unwavering leader in defending our democracy,” Bachelor said. “While we strongly believe in our state’s independent redistricting system to keep the process fair, this moment calls for using every tool in our toolbox to make sure we still have a democracy after the 2026 midterm elections.”
Keith Brown of the Alameda Labor Council directly linked the crisis to Trump’s political allies in Texas. “This unparalleled attack on democracy would not be possible without the Texas Republicans who are answering not to the people, but to one man: Donald Trump,” Brown said. “California will not sit back and watch the erosion of our democracy.”
The demonstration mixed serious speeches with satirical protest theater. A 15-foot inflatable chicken with orange hair, representing Trump, loomed over the amphitheater, while activists carried large cardboard “rotten eggs” with the names of Texas politicians. A skit portrayed Trump as “too chicken to win a fair election,” laying “hatchlings of authoritarianism” across the country. “Let me tell you, these aren’t just breakfast eggs,” one performer said. “These are hatchlings of authoritarianism. And when they crack open, you’ll see exactly who is doing Trump’s dirty peck work. Egg number one, crack. It’s Ted Cruz.”
Another performer added a broader critique, pointing to Chief Justice John Roberts’ role in weakening voting protections. “In 2013, he picked the Voting Rights Act to pieces, tearing out the best protection we had against bad birds like Abbott and Cruz,” the speaker said. “And in 2019 he ruled that partisan gerrymandering was not the court’s problem, which is to say, it’s like saying, sure, let the fox guard the hen house.”
Several speakers tied the redistricting fight to a broader erosion of democratic norms. One quoted German pastor Martin Niemöller’s warning about failing to resist authoritarianism. “What Trump has been doing is not similar. It is the same agenda that Hitler had when he took over Germany,” the speaker said, before reciting Niemöller’s words: “First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak up because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Another described Trump’s administration as one that “gutted agencies that protect the public health, public education, and workers and civil rights” while giving tax breaks to billionaires. “The fight has come to California,” the speaker said. “We must respond with every tool at our disposal. Come on, come on, come on. We’re not going to sit back and let the wealthy and the powerful rig the system for their benefit.”
Gary Ute, SEIU 1021 Vice President for the East Bay, said the labor movement would be central in resisting Trump’s agenda. “As an Oakland resident, a native resident of Oakland, healthcare worker at Highland Hospital, as a union member, as a union leader, and as a Black man, I’m here to say that 60,000 members of SEIU 1021 across Northern California are ready to speak up and fight for our democracy.”
Faith leaders also joined the call, framing resistance as a moral imperative. One speaker described the gathering as “what love in action looks like” and urged the crowd to see the fight for democracy as both spiritual and political.
Young people played a prominent role. Seventeen-year-old Sophie Ette, a senior at Oakland Tech High School, said decisions about redistricting, school closures and budget cuts often exclude those most affected. “It’s not just numbers on a spreadsheet,” she said. “It’s families rearranging their lives, students losing teachers they trust, and communities losing places that bring them together. Decisions like that show why our voices matter.”
Other speakers pointed to Trump’s legal record and ongoing efforts to consolidate control. One said, “It is very clear based on the chaos that Trump has been creating, that he will stop at nothing to secure complete control of our country. Continuing to violate the Constitution, continuing to break the law—and remember that he is a convicted felon, working to consolidate power, escalate repression, and move our country into authoritarianism.”
Oakland’s history of activism was invoked repeatedly. One speaker warned that Trump had deliberately targeted the city, not because of crime, but because of its legacy of civil rights leadership. “It’s not a coincidence that he is targeting Oakland and our legacy of social justice activism that has been led by people of color, specifically Black folks. Oakland is one of the most diverse cities in a state that is one of the most diverse states in this nation.”
The gathering concluded with calls for unity across movements and communities. “We’ve got to invite the immigrant rights movement into this. We’ve got to invite the labor movement. We’ve got to move across generations, across gender identity and fight to win.”
As the crowd dispersed, chants of “this is what democracy looks like” echoed around Lake Merritt. For many, the rally was not only about opposing gerrymandering in Texas but also about preparing for the months ahead in California, where voters will soon decide whether to adopt a new congressional map.
Speakers warned that the November special election could become a defining moment. Whether California’s countermeasure succeeds, they said, will determine if the state can shield itself against what they described as an unprecedented national attack on democratic institutions.
