Civic Center Plaza
335 McAllister Street
(Carlton B. Goodlett Place opp. City Hall)
Saturday September 20, 2025
10:00AM Flash Dance Rehearsals
11:00AM Procession & Poetry
12:00PM Performance Action
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Bring a Blanket and a Picnic!
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# ASL Interpretation Provided
On Saturday September 20 (the weekend of the Autumnal Equinox) we will initiate a national movement to publicly protest and organize against the Trump Administration and its dangerous and nefarious national policy, Project 2025.
The People vs. Project 2025 is an artistic, populist and public expression of the work being done by many activist community and political advocacy organizations working to oppose what is a dangerous Christian Fundamentalist dogma fronted by the Heritage Foundation (CLICK HERE for a synopsis of Project 2025 and / or scroll down for additional informational URL links about Project 2025).
San Francisco Action -- We Got The Power
We have formed a Bay Area chapter of The People vs. Project 2025 and our first prototype event will take place on September 20 at Civic Center Plaza opposite City Hall.
To attend the event RSVP HERE
Live Streaming on Zoom & YouTube
Our action will also be live-streamed and held in tandem with several other public events organized by different The People vs. Project 2025 chapters taking place concurrently and consecutively throughout the country.
The live stream will be broadcast on our YouTube Channel starting at 11:00am at this link: https://www.youtube.com/@sfiaf
Those who cannot make it to Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco who want to participate in the "We Got The Power" Flash Dance, can join this Zoom room on September 20, from 10:30am Pacific Time: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84353813145?pwd=EajEN5bPbfY1iDzVQnwXFNhllb5y8s.1
We Got The Power at Civic Center Plaza includes Performances by: Amos White, Antoinette Payne, Basma Edrees, Bellamy Ackrell, Christine Kammler, Dance Brigade, Extinction Rebellion, Genny Lim, James Cagney, Kimi Sugioka, Kitty Costello, Leslie Kirk Campbell, Louise Nayer, Michelle Jacques, Our Teatro/Cosmovisión, Peggy Morrison, The Performance Lab, STEAMROLLER Dance Company, Susan Dambroff, Terry Tierney, Tiny Gray Garcia, Tureeda Mikell, and the Wandering Ensemble.
MCs Jeff Raz, Lavon Godfrey and Richard Loranger.
Civic Center Plaza Schedule
10:00am We Got The Power Flash Dance Rehearsals
11:00am Artist Solidarity Procession (around our reserved performance area in Civic Center Plaza)
11:00am Poetry & Spoken Word Performances #ASL
12:00pm We Got The Power Flash Dance & Live Performances #ASL
-- 12:01pm We Got The Power Opening Flash Dance
-- 12:07pm Independent Performances
-- 12:54pm We Got The Power Closing Flash Dance
1:00pm END
To participate in the program, artists and ensembles, activists and members of the public, please sign up here to get involved in both artistic and supporting roles (then scroll down for more details):
Our San Francisco action will include a large scale public performance that adapts a mix version of the song, The Power by Snap.
The action will be video recorded and live-streamed. The goal is for the live streams to feed into a central channel where they will all be featured as part of a coordinated national broadcast. Edited versions of the coordinated national actions will be posted to YouTube and other hosted video sites.
We Got The Power -- Action Structure
For the We Got The Power action, we will use a successful model devised by arts faculty who worked in the California State University system (CSU) in 2012 (see below). The structure will include a choreographed chorus with space in between for individual groups / communities to focus on and articulate the components of Project 2025 that they consider most dangerous to them and their communities.
The current plan is to assemble at Civic Center Plaza across from City Hall. There will be an in-person rehearsal starting at 10:00am followed by an artist led procession around the circumference of the Plaza at 11:00am. The event will start at 12:00pm and last for about 60 minutes.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Groups
There are three ways for groups and ensembles to participate (in addition to joining in the We Got The Power chorus -- should you wish to):
1. In the 11:00am Procession
2. As a featured ensemble DURING the opening/closing We Got The Power Flash Dances
3. As an independent ensemble IN BETWEEN the We Got The Power opening and closing Flash Dances.
Sign up at the We Got The Power Button above or HERE. We will be in touch to facilitate your involvement.
Individuals
1. Creatives
Individuals (or groups of individuals) who want to participate in the We Got The Power chorus sign up at the volunteer portal above or HERE.
You can learn the choreography by viewing and learning from the videos below. As an additional option, you are welcome to attend in-person rehearsals with Eric Kupers and the Wandering Ensemble on Tuesday evenings and / or via Zoom on Thursday evenings. For more details regarding in-person and live Zoom rehearsals, CLICK HERE.
Finally, there will also be last minute rehearsals at Civic Center Plaza on Saturday September 20 starting at 10:00am. No advance sign up necessary.
2. Support Staff & Crew
If your penchant is more for event support than taking center stage, then there are a variety of technical and non-technical volunteer roles that we need folks for. Similarly, sign up at the We Got The Power button above or HERE. We will be in touch.
Advocacy Organizations
Civics groups and advocacy organizations that want to have an informational table at the event, speak on camera and/or to the media in association with the action, send an email to [email protected] or call our office at 415-399-9554.
Spectators
Finally, if you are a member of the public who would simply like to witness all of the above as a live performance spectacle or a remote live-streamed event, you can RSVP HERE.
We will send reminders, streaming schedules and any updates to the timing and lineup. If you are planning to attend in-person, please be punctual and be aware that the dress code is RED.
Public Safety
We know that Federal Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) operates in San Francisco. We ask that people from communities targeted and harassed by ICE officers to consider their personal safety and that of their families before contemplating attending in-person. The event will carry a strong pro-immigrant and pro-refugee message that does not require every individual's attendance--and it will be live-streamed and can be viewed safely online.
Donations
To make a donation to help us underwrite the cost of this action, CLICK HERE. Type in "We Got The Power" when prompted to identify what the donation is for.
Full Creative Movement Instruction
Wandering Ensemble and Dandelion Dancetheater artistic director and CSU East Bay Professor, Eric Kupers demonstrates the dance moves for the "We Got the Power" chorus.
Creative Movement Breakdown
California State University Inspiration
We are taking our inspiration from a series of successful actions that took place across the California State University system in 2012. Members of the California Faculty Association (the faculty's trade union) participated in choreographed "flash-mob-like" dance choruses to support one and oppose another initiative on the state ballot in that year's November elections. The actions occurred simultaneously across many of the system's 23 campuses. The choruses were structured to allow freestyle improvisations devised by each individual group in between.
Sponsored by:
Other Publications and Informational Resources About Project 2025
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Americans for the Arts
Asian American Pacific Islander Equity Alliance
Barn Raiser Media
Center for American Progress
Common Cause
Climate Power
Democracy Docket
Democracy Forward
Indian Country Today
Indivisible
Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
League of United Latin American American Citizens
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Urban League
Native News Online
People Organizing to Defend Environmental & Economic Rights
Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund
Race Forward
