‘Resist Trump’ march in Oakland focuses on environmental issues

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Five dozen demonstrators marched through the streets of downtown Oakland on Tuesday afternoon at a “Resist Trump” rally focused on protecting the environment.

Marchers, carrying banners that said “One Planet, One People, No Pipeline,” started at 12th and Broadway and stopped at two downtown banks that they said were funding the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.

“The climate crisis is a symptom of a deeper problem — an economy based on extraction and exploitation of resources and people,” said Martha Kuhl, treasurer of the California Nurses Association, as she addressed the crowd.

The event was led by the Bay Area environmental justice organization Sunflower Alliance. Marchers also stopped at Frank Ogawa Plaza and outside the office of developer Phil Tagami, who has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the city of Oakland’s ban on shipping coal from the city’s port.

Tagami, a longtime friend of governor Jerry Brown, claimed in a December suit the city interfered with federal rules with its July ordinance that banned coal handling and storage.

“The city council did what was best for community when it voted not to export coal,” said Hai Bo Pan of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network. “I’m demanding that Phil Tagami drop the lawsuit.”

In front of Oakland City Hall, city council member Rebecca Kaplan told the crowd that “Trump is taking away our EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).”

“Whatever they’re doing in D.C. is not going to stop us from standing up for the air, water and people of the planet,” she added. “It ain’t in Trump’s hands. It’s in our hands.”

There were no violent incidents in the protest. A handful of police monitored the march.

Demonstrators ended the rally around 1 p.m. with a group photo in front of city hall. Instead saying, “cheese,” they chanted, “No coal in Oakland.”

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno