Rush hour traffic on El Camino funneled into a cacophony of car horns, people standing on El Camino Real’s medians and calls for political change.
Car horns honked throughout the protest.
Audio by Chloe de Leon
This year’s May Day, or International Workers Day, has sparked protests across the country advocating for workers’ rights and denouncing the Trump administration’s policies. People old and young gathered with signs, bells and chants to make their case on current politics earlier this evening on the corner of El Camino Real and Jefferson Ave in Redwood City, California. Protestors held up signs about tariffs, social security, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and due process. The Indivisible Project—which aims to protect democracy, elect progressive leaders and fight against the “Trump agenda”—brought the protest to community members, like Karen.
“I do not like what this government is doing in many areas: in immigration and economics, in compassion and caring, how they’re treating young [and] old people,” Karen said. “[It’s] just outrageous to me.”
The Trump administration recently pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, and fired roughly 1,000 national park workers, actions that worried Karen.
“I think about [my granddaughter’s] future [and] what kind of a world she is going to live in when the Constitution is being abused and the judges aren’t being listened to and people’s rights are being trampled,” Karen said.
Woodside teachers Greg Gruszynski and David Edel showed up to the protest wearing Sequoia District Teachers Association t-shirts in support of International Workers Day and immigrants’ rights.
“Redwood City and the whole Bay Area is an area of immigrants,” Gruszynski said. “They’re what makes our economy strong. Donald Trump and his administration are attacking immigrants, deporting minor citizens because their parents are undocumented. [It’s] unprecedented, illegal and completely immoral.”
Chants like “congress do something” and “no king” echoed throughout the rally, resonating with protesters like Edel.
“All you have to do is take pictures of all these signs and see how people are disappointed, angry and infuriated with so many issues that have come out in the last 100 days,” Edel said.
Indivisible Project member Scott expressed his concerns on the efficacy of the U.S.’s current checks and balances.
“We need the courts and democracy,” Scott said. “You have to have courts for [the government]. You have to have laws to run the government.”
Scott also expressed concern on Donald Trump’s means to financial gain during his presidency, specifically in relation to Donald Trump’s own cryptocurrency token being used by Abu Dhabi to invest in cryptocurrency trading platform Binance. Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture raised concerns with professional financial ethics advisors.
“He’s skimming the money out of our pockets and putting it into his,” Scott said.
With constant political happenings, community-members encouraged students and young people to stay conscientious of the world around them. Protestor Lori reported being “DOGE-ed” from her work in education research. Never having protested before, implemented and speculated policies pulled her in.
“Now is the time when high school and even younger [need] to be learning, to be talking to people, to be finding out what the issues are,” Lori said. “Where they can stand on those [issues], what changes they want to make, what are the points of agreement where we can all work as a community toward progress, not constantly othering someone.”
Edel suggested ways high school students can get involved in politics and the policies impacting them.
“I’d like to see more dialogue [from Woodside students],” Edel said. “I’d like to see rallies and respectful dialog and exchange of ideas. I’d like to see kids be more informed and not rely so much on whatever comes through the social media feed as information.”
Gruszynski expressed an urgency for students to understand influences of the current administration.
“I think students shouldn’t take their rights for granted,” Gruszynski said. “They shouldn’t take our democracy for granted.”
Edel emphasized that young people should take a stance and educate themselves, even if they do not have a vote yet.
“I think this is your future more than it’s our future,” Edel said. “You haven’t voted yet in a presidential election, and there’s a possibility that you won’t. The horror of that is really frightening.”
