'Border wall' built by protestors blocks Oakland intersection (updated)

Update: An earlier version of this article indicated that CPM Logistics had decided to place a bid to build the border wall. There are reports that CPM expressed interest in the border wall, but CPM has not submitted a bid. In addition, this article has been updated to indicate that Brown crossed out a portion of the pledge when signing it.

On Wednesday morning roughly 100 protesters in hard hats and vests gathered in Oakland’s Montclair neighborhood and walled off part of a street near Thornhill Drive and Moraga Avenue.

Via a press release, the group Bay Resistance was protesting in response to report that CPM Logistics was interested in the White House’s still-developing plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Hatred doesn’t take root just when racist policies are put forward, it takes root when everyday people are complicit and act as if they’re just doing their job,” says Bay Resistance spokesperson Josue Arguelles of the group’s objections.

The activists asked Brown to sign a pledge that read, in part:

We will not work on the wall in any capacity, will not seek contracts with DHS on this project, and will not seek to consult or subcontract for other firms contracted directly by DHS on this project.

It is important note that Brown crossed out a portion of the pledge that said they would retract their bid since Brown claims there was never one in the first place.

Bay Resistance’s Pete Woiwode tells Curbed SF that Brown met with the group and signed the pledge “after two hours of chanting, singing, and drumming.”

“She made it very clear they have no intention of helping build the wall,” says Woiwode. “Sometimes people do the right thing if they’re just asked to.”

Brown and CPM Logistics have not responded to requests for confirmation, but the protesters did produce an image of a woman who is recognizably Brown holding the petition with pen in hand.

City lawmakers warn that San Francisco will not do business with companies who contribute to the project.

In March, the San Francisco Chronicle noted that some businesses participated in the DHS bid even though they’ve stated that they don’t agree with the politics of the wall initiative.

Woiwode tells Curbed SF that Bay Resistance has plans for similar demonstrations directed at all of the Bay Area contractors who bid, with another planned perhaps as soon as next week.

• Bay Resistance
• CPM Logistics
• SF Considers Blackballing Wall Companies [Curbed SF]
• Businesses Bid On Wall Despite Risk [Chronicle]