If you’ve been stuck in traffic on Interstate 805 near North Park, chances are you’ve seen the quippy political signs posted on the Meade Avenue overpass.
“Tariffs and war make us poor,” or “Liar, liar, prices are higher,” are just some of the messages drivers might have seen on their way south over the last few weeks.
But have you ever wondered who’s putting the signs up?
Every Thursday for over a year, Susan has brought her bright yellow letters to the Meade Avenue bridge. We’ve agreed to use only her first name because she fears for her safety due to her activism work. She was inspired to take action after the Trump administration ramped up immigration enforcement.
“The lack of due process in sending people to other countries where they're not even from and to a prison without a trial. That was enough to kind of get me off my sofa and to do something,” Susan said.
She got the idea to do an overpass protest from Facebook after seeing posts from The Visibility Brigade, a national movement that has helped people in other U.S. cities start what they refer to as “overpass actions.”
The Visibility Brigade traces its origin to Paramus, New Jersey, where Dana Glazer started putting up messages in 2020.
“The Visibility Brigade is about creating social proof — social proof that we’re in a state of crisis,” Glazer said. “The genesis of Visibility Brigade was the frustration that I had personally with looking around and seeing everything looked normal, and it wasn’t. I wanted to find a way to disrupt that.”
Today, there are about 500 Visibility Brigades active across the country, Glazer said.
Why overpasses?
This question takes us to Paris, where the Pont de Neuf Bridge stands as a monument to French protest and resistance. It was the first bridge in Paris to accommodate pedestrians and as such served as an important meeting point for French revolutionaries.
Glanzer said The Visibility Brigade is continuing that tradition.
“We think of ourselves as building a bridge all across the country made up of a bunch of smaller bridges,” he said.
There’s also the traffic — a captive audience.
“There's no algorithm on the bridge, it doesn't suppress you. Everybody that drives by sees it,” said Sabrina Ball, who organizes three bridges in Fort Worth, Texas. “That’s the struggle, is getting a message out there online on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok … but the bridge? It’s there, they have to see it.”
In San Diego, where freeways often bisect entire neighborhoods, overpasses are also places to connect.
Heather Aboroa has been attending the I-805 protest since it began. She said she’s connected with the other people that come out to the protest.
“What I get out of this is a lot of camaraderie,” Aboroa said. “These people are my friends and we’ve done a couple of events where we get people from different groups together for, you know, carne asada … so, we’ve formed networks.”
The message
Ahead of the midterm elections on Nov. 3, Susan is especially interested in reaching voters, but she’s also being realistic about expectations.
“I don't think I'm going to flip a diehard MAGA or Trump voter, and I know that people who are already Democrats — you know, they honk and they wave and they have a good time,” Susan said. “Really my audience is those voters that normally don't turn out. Especially midterms, but just in general. They don't follow politics, right? They don't think it affects them. And I'm trying to point out that yes, it does.”
That’s also the approach nationally, Glazer said.
“We're not trying to antagonize people. We're trying to remind people of their civic responsibility, especially come November, and to get them to do more,” he said.
How does the Visibility Brigade do that in as few letters as possible?
“We do a lot of messaging research,” Susan said.
There’s a Signal chat with all the organizers across the country. People will throw out ideas. There’s a lot of collaboration, Susan added.
“It’s nice to have that,” she said. “I mean, there are a couple hundred people in that group. Majority rules, and I take what they have to say seriously.”
But the letters are only one part of the message Susan and the other Visibility Brigade members hope to convey.
Ramona Konar, who brings her own sign to the Meade Avenue Bridge every week, said showing up is just as important.
“I hope people will be encouraged when they see us and do whatever they can to let their views be known, and to vote,” she said.
KPBS reached out to a San Diego County Republican Party official to see if they know of any similar demonstrations advocating for Republican causes and to get their reaction to The Visibility Brigade. They did not get back to us.
