Quick Take
Representatives of more than 40 local groups gathered in downtown Santa Cruz for the NAACP-hosted march, where many voiced opposition to the Trump administration.
Thousands marched through downtown Santa Cruz to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, with demonstrators drawing on the civil rights leader’s legacy to fuel their opposition to Trump administration policies.
Crowds carrying banners, signs and art displays gathered at Santa Cruz City Hall at 10 a.m. for the annual march hosted by the Santa Cruz County branch of the NAACP.
Demonstrators, including representatives of 43 local organizations and two dozen volunteers, snaked through a two-block stretch of downtown to chants and drumbeats as others sang activist anthems like “This Little Light of Mine” and “Bella Ciao,” a song popularized by Italian anti-fascists during World War II.
Elaine Johnson, the executive director of the Santa Cruz County NAACP, spoke to the crowd gathered at city hall. She told demonstrators that love must be at the forefront of change, urging them to vote in future elections and represent marginalized communities everywhere from boardrooms to classrooms.
“It’s OK to be angry,” she said. “It’s OK to even be mad, but love is what’s going to move that needle and keep you going. That other stuff is going to keep you on the couch.”
Johnson paused for a moment of silence to reflect on pain and sorrow in the local Black community, naming beloved Santa Cruz-based jazz and gospel singer Tammi Brown, longtime Santa Cruz High School staff member Richard “Rip” Harris and local activist Thairie Ritchie as he heals from a self-immolation on the same day one year ago.
Johnson told the crowd that living in Santa Cruz, which is less than 2% Black, “hasn’t always been easy” compared to where she grew up in the Bronx. She emphasized rest and nourishing oneself, as communities must preserve their strength to continue showing up and speaking out for each other.
“We got three more years, y’all,” Johnson said to boos, referring to the end of Trump’s second term. “Let’s keep doing what we need to do so we don’t undo the civil rights that so many fought for us today.”
Mayor Fred Keeley, who has lived in Santa Cruz for nearly five decades, was also at the rally and told Lookout that he has never seen the local community so concerned about basic civil liberties and safety as they are right now.
“What is going on in this country right now is very frightening, and the way to push back against it is in community,” he said. “It’s probably not surprising this would happen in Santa Cruz. What might be more surprising, though, is that it’s happening everywhere in the country today, and I think that’s very encouraging.”
Dreams of equality and justice united those who showed up to Monday’s peaceful demonstration, said Wanda Conaway Knight, 73, who was at the rally representing Cabrillo College but was previously involved with the NAACP.
“The flavor of the world is sick, and a lot of people are afraid to come out and protest,” she said, adding that fewer people attended this year’s rally than the one in 2025. “I’m not afraid of anything. I’m not afraid to speak my words, because I’ve always been this way.”
Mara Hickey, the chief investigator for Santa Cruz County Office of the Public Defender, marched with a banner and others from the office. She said the team stands firm in protecting its clients, which face heightened challenges like an “increased penalization of poverty” and federal cuts to social services.
“It’s truly frightening when the law doesn’t seem to have any meaning,” Hickey said. “Homeland Security, Department of Justice … it’s just wild.”
Homemade art, like a large Statue of Liberty and white dove puppets symbolizing peace, dotted the sea of people at the rally. The creations belong to Artists Respond and Resist Together, a collective that’s been active since the 2016 Women’s March.
“We really believe that art touches people at the core,” said Sarah Friedlander, who helps make art for AART. “You can get the message through directly. Having the puppets brings hope and optimism.”
La’Sundra McGowan, a board member for Santa Cruz Pride, said Dr. King would have loved to see the diversity of the Santa Cruz community during the march. Though her message to President Trump was a simple explicative command, she said she and other marchers are commemorating a “sense of calm.”
“I want to bring it back to just us all joining together peacefully,” McGowan said. “Everybody is getting volatile, so it just feels good to be together in solidarity with all these other groups.”