Pre-dawn 'Wake Up’ protest outside Oakland Mayor Schaaf’s house

Demonstrators, voicing their frustrations with injustices against African Americans, gathered in front of the home of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf early Monday morning on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Demonstrators, voicing their frustrations with injustices against African Americans, gathered in front of the home of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf early Monday morning on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Photo: Henry K. Lee Photo: Henry K. Lee Image 1 of / 58 Caption Close Pre-dawn 'Wake Up’ protest outside Oakland Mayor Schaaf’s house 1 / 58 Back to Gallery

Protesters gathered outside the home of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf before dawn Monday, saying they were giving her a “people’s inauguration” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Around 50 demonstrators descended on the home at 5 a.m. to express frustrations that the newly elected mayor spent her first day on the job with Oakland police. They also said her time on the City Council had contributed to gentrification.

The group stood in a circle and chanted through bullhorns outside the home in the Upper Dimond neighborhood while illuminating tall letters spelling out “Dream” in honor of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 in Washington, D.C. The visitors also projected King quotes on Schaaf’s garage door and drew chalk outlines of bodies on the street.

Police responded to the scene to monitor the crowd. An elderly woman who lives across the street voiced displeasure at the protest, prompting one participant to speak with her and apologize for any inconvenience.

Protesters chanted, “Wake up Libby!” as well as “Good morning Libby Schaaf,” “No sleeping on the job!” and “You chose to prioritize blue, but today you will hear black.”

Schaaf did not venture outside. But her husband, Salvatore Fahey, waved at one point from a window, prompting chants of “Come out!” Near the end of the protest, Fahey opened the front door and accepted a leaflet.

“This is the people’s alarm,” said one protester. “You chose to spend your first day as mayor with the Oakland Police Department, a force that has terrorized the black community since its inception.”

Karissa Lewis, 32, of Oakland said protesters probably would have been outside the mayor's home even if she hadn't spent time with police her first day.

"Her time on the City Council has also shown that she supports gentrification and the displacement of black folks in this community,” Lewis said. Visiting with police as one of her first actions “wasn't the only thing that has frustrated us with Libby, but it definitely gives us the opening to spend the day with her,” she said.

Lewis is one of 14 protesters charged by Alameda County prosecutors with trespassing on railroad property, a misdemeanor, for allegedly chaining themselves to each other and a BART train at the West Oakland station on Nov. 28. Supporters are calling for those charges to be dropped.

Protesters outlined a series of demands Monday, including increasing funding for school libraries, firing officers who use excessive force and placing officers who are under investigation for misconduct on unpaid rather than paid leave.

The demonstration was the latest in a series of King Day weekend protests. On Sunday night, around 150 people marched through downtown Oakland, prompting BART to temporarily close the Fruitvale station.

Oakland police said they arrested four people on suspicion of various crimes, including assaulting officers, and issued 21 citations.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee