A protest rally and vigil in support of Palestinians was held Tuesday evening at The Park at River Walk in Bakersfield, at the same time and location where a memorial event for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was organized.
The pro-Palestinian event, organized by United Front for Liberation, began at 6:30 p.m. at 11298 Stockdale Highway. Organizers said the rally was held in response to ongoing violence in Gaza and throughout Palestine.
A spokesperson for the group said the rally was part of their effort to show that Bakersfield has diverse voices that oppose racism, Zionism and hateful rhetoric.
Participants gather for a rally and vigil in support of Palestinians on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, at The Park at River Walk in Bakersfield. (Haley Duval/Kern Sol News)
“United Liberation Front for Palestine organized this rally and vigil together for the two years plus 77 of the current genocide on Palestinians,” the spokesperson said. “We want people to understand that Bakersfield is not just what some assume it to be. It’s made up of 70 percent Latinos farmworkers, hardworking people, citizens and non-citizens. What is called the minority is actually the majority. We have just been told to stay silent out of fear of retribution.”
The vigil included photographs of individuals the group said they were remembering. That included Al-Sharif, a Palestinian journalist who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a media tent outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. They also pointed to the recent death of Trey Reed, a Black man found hanged at Delta State University in Alabama, and to Ro Vego Gonzalez, who they said was the first direct casualty of recent ICE raids in Chicago.
Candles and photographs are displayed during a vigil for Palestinians and other victims of violence on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, at The Park at River Walk in Bakersfield. (Haley Duval/Kern Sol News)
The group contrasted their vigil with the memorial for Kirk, which included a motor parade and candlelight service. Organizers said some people who attended the Kirk event stopped by the pro-Palestinian rally and expressed sympathy, though they also said others admitted they had not known about the group’s presence in Bakersfield.
A participant in a pro-Palestinian rally hugs a woman attending a nearby memorial for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, at The Park at River Walk in Bakersfield. Organizers said some people from the Kirk event stopped by to express support for the vigil, despite vehicles passing throughout the protest showing opposition. (Haley Duval/Kern Sol News)
“All we are asking is two things care about these people just as much, and understand that Bakersfield has a contingency of people ready to stand against the kind of fascism we are seeing every day,” the spokesperson said.
More information about the group is available at www.unitedliberationfront.com.
Vehicles displaying American and Christian flags drive past participants expressing their opposition in a pro-Palestinian rally on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, at The Park at River Walk in Bakersfield. The vehicles were part of a motor parade for a nearby memorial for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. (Haley Duval/Kern Sol News)
