Golden Gate Bridge Action (9/21/21)
WALKING ON THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE AT SUNRISE
First off, let me just say: I’m not a fan of bridges. I’m not great with heights in general. No matter how iconic they may be, I’d rather look at them from afar than walk around on ‘em.
The night before the action, I received a text from a bay area organizer, asking if I was available to do some photography work early the following morning. I thought about it. As I was writing a reply, another text came in: “I can’t say much else via text, but suffice it to say: it’s gonna be epic.” My interest was piqued. I got my gear ready, and at 4am the next morning, an organizer swooped me up. I had no idea what the plan was or where we were going.
Gradually, during that car ride, I learned what was going to happen. And it was all because Elizabeth MacDonough, an unelected supposed-nonpartisan Parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate had reached a decision on the one of the provisions of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation measure: no immigration reform. For whatever reason, she had authority to write, “The policy changes of this proposal far outweigh the budgetary impact.”
“We can take this to Kamala,” the organizer explained. “The Parliamentarian’s decision is just a recommendation, a non-binding one. The Democrats could absolutely ignore the recommendation if they want to get this done. They just need to know that we’re all watching and waiting for them to do the right thing.” With so many migrant workers working “essential” jobs during COVID, and with DACA having been rescinded during the Trump administration, the Democrats were pushing for a win. And this was perhaps the only shot they’d get at delivering on a long-time campaign promise during this Biden tenure.
We arrived at Golden Gate park during twilight, where organizers had gathered for their action. Once everything and everyone was ready, everyone jumped into their respective vehicles, and at exactly 7am, the column of cars made its way onto the bridge. When the train got to the first arch of the bridge, it was show time. Traffic on the northbound side of the world famous Golden Gate bridge came to a complete stop.
As I opened the car door and stepped onto the tarmac, I forced the anxious ADHD messy part of me into silence as I demanded of myself to focus and do my goddamn job: document the event as it unfolded and prep photography for media.
That’s me on the bottom right, taking photos.
The organizers had planned for a short 20 minute program on the world famous Golden Gate bridge, and then clear out. 20 minutes for the 20 years of congressional failure. A short media moment for Kamala Harris to take notice, a momentary blip in the schedules of anyone traveling northbound on the bridge. Everything was going according to plan.
Until the CHP showed up.
They immediately blocked all lanes, effectively closing the bridge. The action may have inconvenienced some people, but CHP’s actions are what ultimately made all sorts of people rage. They also inadvertently gave the organizers much more visibility and media coverage than they had originally planned for.
I kept snapping away, walking in between cars, capturing the action as the sun peaked over the east bay hills while media and police helicopters began to circle above us. As each speaker presented and I looked around, I realized: there are several generations of migrants on this bridge here, demanding justice and visibility, calling for a promise that they’ve been offered time and again to finally be fulfilled. Despite the fact that my monkey brain was going haywire over the idea that I was walking around on a bridge suspended hundreds of feet above the cold choppy San Francisco waters, I then felt a sense of peace and calm wash over me.
The organizer was right. This WAS epic.
Just then, a CHP officer walks up to me and gruffly demands my name.
I played dumb.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?!” I pointed at my ear, noting how loud everything was.
He inched closer and yelled, “WHAT PODCAST?!!”
Again, I acted dumb. “You wanna know my favorite podcast??!!”
He stared at me for a few seconds before walking away, shaking his head.
After the program ended and everyone began to prep to drive off the bridge, I walked back towards the head of the column where organizers and the CHP were negotiating what was going to happen next. By then, several tow trucks had already positioned themselves in front of the lead vehicles, and it became apparent that the CHP was not going to just let this go. They were angry: An action? About immigration? ON THEIR BRIDGE? Someone had to go down.
The car of the organizer who I had rode in with ended up on the back of a tow truck. I found myself without a ride. I began making my way over to the edge of the tarmac, readying my gear into my bag in order to climb the wire onto the sidewalk of the bridge, but just then another organizer grabbed me and pulled me towards their car.
“Start working on those photos. We need them ASAP.”
You gotta love organizers. They never lose sight of their jobs.
Eventually, CHP allowed for traffic to start moving once more. In the end, several cars ended up getting towed and a few organizers were arrested. And although immigration reform was ultimately dropped from the reconciliation bill in December of 2021, this one-hour action echoed throughout the world, inspiring many immigrants rights organizations to stage their own actions throughout the country.
Regardless of how inconvenienced you may feel about these sort of public actions, I feel that this communicates that there are a lot of folks out there not ready -or even willing- to give up. And in moments of despair, that’s a beautiful thing to remember.
Art by Griselda Madrigal.
