‘We’re Not Giving Up’: People’s March Unites the Community in Santa Barbara

De la Guerra Plaza was packed with pink shirts, knitted pussyhats, and people waving signs both hopeful and defiant during the People’s March Santa Barbara, a community rally held Saturday, January 18, as part of a nationwide day of unity and resistance before Inauguration Day. 

Nearly 300 people filled the courtyard plaza, where former State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson served as emcee for the event, introducing a stream of short speeches from political heavyweights, community organizers, and representatives from local groups such as the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee, La Casa de La Raza, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee Santa Barbara. Following the demonstration, the group marched their way down State Street.

“We’ve seen these battles for a long time,”  Jackson said during the rally before the march. “And we’re not giving up now.”

In the crowd, people listened intently, shouting words of agreement and waving homemade signs. “If I make my uterus a corporation, will you stop regulating it?” one sign read; “Let’s turn four years of shit into compost,” said another. One man in the crowd wore a Trump mask, a black-and-white prison uniform, and Mickey Mouse gloves, waving a sign that simply said: “Clown”

The event served as a chance for Santa Barbara’s progressive community to regroup, re-energize, and turn the page from mourning the results of the presidential election to preparing for the political fights ahead. This year’s theme, “Where the Power Truly Lives: With the People,” called on Americans to “remind Washington elites of the power and importance of collective action,” according to the event organizers.

[Click to enlarge] People’s March Santa Barbara, January 18, 2025 | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

The People’s March, formerly known as the Women’s March, was rebranded this year as a wider-reaching political action, using the upcoming presidential inauguration as a chance to discuss women’s rights, immigration, partisan politics, and the need to preserve rights for LGBTQ+, disabled, and marginalized communities across the country.

Speakers included State Assemblymember Gregg Hart, who promised to work with Senator Monique Limón and Governor Gavin Newsom to resist the threat of right-wing politics affecting progress that has been made in California. He said he was also committed to ensuring the federal government doesn’t withhold disaster relief funds for wildfires — “We are not going to let that happen,” he said.

County Board of Supervisors Chair Laura Capps said the nation was, at its core, made of immigrants and people who are compassionate about one another. “No election will change that,” she said.

Santa Barbara Independent Editor-in-Chief Marianne Partridge spoke on the importance of responsible local journalism, media literacy, and community engagement in the face of nationwide uncertainty. “A free and local press,” she said,” is core to solving our national problems.”