Three longtime activists discuss the power of protest in Mountain View

A grassroots movement is brewing in Mountain View.

Since January, thousands of people have been participating in numerous street corner protests, marches and rallies to denounce the Trump administration and its policies.

The protesters have turned out for a large number of causes: for the rule of law and democracy; for immigration, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights; for science, health care and the environment.

It is not a coincidence that most of the demonstrations have taken place at Gateway Park, an area that has served as a site of public protest since the 1990s.

Nor is it a coincidence that three longtime community activists – Lenny Siegel, Sally Lieber and IdaRose Sylvester – have been at the center of the call for collective action.

The Voice spoke with the three activists to discuss their roles in the mass demonstrations that have been happening in Mountain View, and what they hope to accomplish with the collective turnout.

The time to protest is now, all three activists said. But they also emphasized that it was not just about the present moment.

“We aren’t just trying to get people into the street on any given day,” Siegel said. “We’re trying to build a movement where people understand what the problems are, and will work in many ways, whether it be in the schools, in elections or whatever, they’ll work to pursue common goals.”

A tradition of political activism

Mountain View has a strong tradition of people organizing demonstrations. But that has not always been the case, according to Siegel, a former Mountain View council member and longtime activist.

The turning point occurred in the early ‘90s, he said. Until then, it was far more common to see marches and rallies happening in bigger cities and on college campuses.

In the lead up to the Persian Gulf War, Siegel and several friends decided they wanted to hold a local demonstration, he said. They settled on Gateway Park because it was highly visible to drivers at the intersection of El Camino Real and Castro Street.

“What was really impressive to me is that several people from my street showed up who would never go to Palo Alto,” Siegel said. “There are people in Mountain View who just felt more comfortable taking part in demonstrations in Mountain View.”

Since then, Gateway Park has been a major site for mass mobilization.

There are many reasons for why people want to participate in demonstrations in their own communities, according to IdaRose Sylvester, a Mountain View Human Relations commissioner who co-founded Together We Will Palo Alto Mountain View, a political action network, in 2016.

The logistics of figuring out how to get to a new place can be tricky and people don’t like to drive too far, Sylvester said. There also is a sense of safety of being close to home.

“If you go to the Mountain View demonstration, you’re probably going to meet dozens of people you know, and that’ll make you feel safer. It’s part of building community,” Sylvester said.

A lot of people sat out during the first Trump administration and did not participate in local protests, according to Sylvester. But now they are joining the marches and rallies, some for the very first time, she said.

“To me, that’s very important. We’re awakening a whole new level of outrage but also passion for democracy and passion for this country,” she said.

A grassroots movement

So far, there has not been a big presence of elected officials at the Mountain View demonstrations. Rather, the turnout has been the “everyday” person, consisting of local residents and supporters from surrounding cities.

It’s a grassroots movement that is giving people the opportunity to speak their minds, said Sally Lieber, a former state Assembly member and former Mountain View council member who now serves on the California Board of Equalization.

The demographics of those who show up also has tended to skew towards an older crowd, a noticeable difference from some of the protests a few years ago, like the Black Lives Matter movement, that drew in younger people.

“I think now it’s really spread to everybody and everyone across the board has table stakes on what this administration is doing,” Lieber said.

Sylvester pushed back on a characterization that the protests were mainly attracting older people, noting that more than 3,000 people showed up for a “Hands Off” march on April 5. The event was part of a nationwide day of action protesting the Trump administration’s federal spending cuts and policies.

“We’ve got way more numbers than we’ve ever seen before. We try to get young people out. We work really, really hard with our Latino community as well,” Sylvester said. “I think there are on-ramps to activism for everybody, regardless of their age,” she added.

Building hope and community

Technology also has changed the way protests are organized today, Siegel said. In the past, it took time to learn about a protest and then contact people to show up. Today, information is quickly blasted through online channels, like social media and listservs.

It is easier to tap into national movements and then mobilize people to participate locally. It also is easier to organize smaller events more regularly and on a moment’s notice, Siegel said.

Large personal networks have helped in their organizing efforts too, Sylvester said. “I think we’re naturally very adept at getting the word out about things, just because of our deep connections throughout the community,” she said.

For Lieber, the advantages they have acquired over time puts them in a strong position as activists and organizers. “Those of us who are a little bit older and have benefited so much from what California has been, we can carry this load,” she said.

But it is not just protests and rallies that the three activists are organizing. A lot of their work also helps people learn about other ways to effectuate change, like letter writing, supporting opposition candidates, donating to causes and attending town halls to share concerns and push local leaders into action.

Even so, the street corner protests have been key to getting the message out. “Politics don’t stop with voting, and that’s really important for people to understand,” Siegel said. “We can’t count on elected officials. We can’t even count on the courts. This is a time when we need to count on mass mobilization.”

It also is about building hope and community, Sylvester said. “I have had countless people say things like, ‘I thought I was all alone. I was scared. Now I feel that there’s a sense of hope and a sense of community.’”

Still, Sylvester says she is looking forward to a time when there would be less need to organize protests. “I do hope we get to breathe at some point a little bit so we could do things like talk about the structural issues that brought us to this moment,” she said.

“I want to start having deeper dialogues and less urgent action.”

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