Standing Up to Wells Fargo in San Francisco

The slimy green fountain at the Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco where we met on a cool April morning seemed to be a statement about the coming apocalypse we’re facing as a result of the climate emergency. We each carried our own stories to that plaza, and we were there to carry others’ stories of disaster, both climate and personal. We held stories of pain and suffering, even death.

After quiet greetings and setting our intention, we proceeded slowly in a single file along the streets to the Wells Fargo headquarters a few blocks away. People going about their business watched us pass, wondering, wondering.

We silently filed into the bank, laid out our photos and signs, unfurled our banners, donned our lab coats, and settled in for a vigil around a makeshift altar near the golden heart Wells Fargo claims to hold at the center of its business. I noticed that the heart is covered with coins, perhaps a nod to Wells Fargo’s real priority.

For nearly two hours we gently sang a dirge interspersed with readings from communications from the people in frontline communities who have firsthand experience with Wells Fargo’s funding of global oil and gas industry projects as well as its funding of violent policing in the United States.

The stories told of toxic pollution affecting vulnerable communities on the Gulf Coast where Wells Fargo funds LNG facilities.

The stories told of police brutality and the murder of Manuel Esteban Paes Terán, known as Tortugita, at the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta, GA, where Wells Fargo funds the construction of a massive police training facility that would destroy much of the urban forest near vulnerable communities.

The stories told of the violence in indigenous communities affected by Wells Fargo funded gas and oil pipelines in the US and Canada.

In the end, the San Francisco Police Department showed up in force and asked us to leave. Most of us collected our belongings and quietly filed out onto the sidewalk. Seven brave activists, including two scientists from Scientist Rebellion, continued to occupy the bank and were subsequently arrested for their refusal to accept the immoral and violent actions Wells Fargo attempts to justify in their public communications.