Rainy Ceasefire Protest in Hayward Brings the International to the Local Level
Haywardistes show that activism and protest in Hayward didn't stop in 2020.
Special Report
As the protestors stand in the rain on the corner of B and Mission, a truck rolls down its windows and unfurls a Palestinian flag. The group cheers as the truck honks its horn and drives around the block. Later, a woman shares that in her religion, rain is a blessing.
On a rainy afternoon on Sunday October 22nd, a group of activists met at City Hall Plaza and marched to the corner of B Street and Mission Blvd before returning to the Plaza for speeches, healing, and community building. The event was organized by an anonymous Haywardiste and included local organizers in the Hayward Community Coalition (HayCoCoa) and other concerned community members.
The City of Hayward has not, historically, been fertile ground for large scale activism. Due to the suburban nature of the city, people don’t tend to know each other well enough, have enough time, and are generally in their cars too often to engage in collective action. Suburban isolation kills the collective activist spirit.
But this past Sunday, on a rainy October afternoon, two dozen people gathered in front of City Hall to ask “Where are our elected officials?” After spending the better part of an hour in the rain on the corner of B and Mission, chanting, holding up signs, and proclaiming solidarity with Palestinians, the group moved to City Hall Plaza. There, they heard speeches from the anonymous organizer, community members, and Councilmember George Syrop.
When a speaker asked where the elected officials are, Councilmember Syrop stood up and asked, as well. His speech focused on the intersections of race, taxes, and justice:
The hypocrisy is overwhelming. That we’ll wave blue and yellow flags when Ukraine is under attack… but if the people under attack are brown and the aggressor is our friend—Palestine somehow fails to live up to our moral standards? It’s bullshit, and today is a collective affirmation that it’s bullshit… The fact that our tax dollars, created by our labor as we barely scrape by to survive, isn’t being spent to fix our crumbling roads or keep our schools open. It’s being spent on weapons to literally kill children and to kill us when we decide we’ve had enough.
He continued, tying the current crisis to historical struggles and crises:
MLK Jr. said “True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.” Let’s not forget he was considered part of a terrorist movement during his time… I also want to acknowledge the irony of being a Council Member for the City of Hayward on occupied Muwekma Ohlone land and genuinely hope that the struggle in Palestine pushes us to seriously confront the legacy of genocide and colonialism that we’ve inherited here. We demand a ceasefire now, we demand an end to our labor and tax dollars funding genocide.
Thus far, there has been no official or unofficial comment from City Councilmembers, beyond Syrop, on the Israeli attacks on Palestinians. So far, the only California elected officials who have officially spoken in support of a ceasefire are Representative Cori Bush and, most recently, the Richmond City Council.
After the event ended, activists gathered together to mingle, continue sharing stories, and to swap contact information to ensure that the fight can continue.
Although there are no further planned actions, HayCoCoa encourages interested Haywardistes to reach out if they are interested in continuing or building the movement. They also mentioned other organizations, including the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, and Jewish Voice for Peace, which interested residents could plug into to help the cause.
For the hungry activists ou there, HalalFest is also partnering with local restaurants, SuzieQ’s Pizza and Falafel Flame to raise money for the children of Gaza from October 24th to November 4th.