WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA – Locals have turned to a new medium to make their political points: sidewalk chalk.
Fresh chalk messages with political themes — including slogans like “Resist” and “Impeach Trump” — have appeared on neighborhood paths and sidewalks around the East Bay. The drawings are temporary and often playful in tone, but they are unmistakably political. Neighbors are noticing them on morning walks and commutes.
What we’re seeing
On the EBMUD trail in Walnut Creek, large pastel letters spell out Resist, punctuated by a hand-drawn heart and a smiling frog doodle.
A few yards away, another chalk scrawl encourages passersby to give yourself — the rest of the phrase is smudged by foot traffic — alongside another frog with a tongue sticking out. On a separate sidewalk, the words Impeach Trump appear in blocky white chalk.
These aren’t elaborate murals. They are quick, sidewalk-level messages, the kind of thing kids might draw on a summer afternoon — except the content is explicitly political. Fallen oak leaves and bike tires have already started to blur the edges, and morning sprinklers will likely finish the job.
Where they’re showing up
Neighbors report spotting chalk slogans on residential cut-throughs, creekside paths, and suburban sidewalks — the sorts of places joggers, dog-walkers, and kids on scooters pass every day. Because chalk is temporary, the messages can appear overnight and fade within a day or two, making them feel both spontaneous and ephemeral.
Some are less political, like this peace sign at Lafayette BART.
If you have seen similar chalk drawings in your neighborhood, send a photo and location to tom@bayareatelegraph.com so we can map the trend.
Why chalk, and why now
Chalk makes sense for rapid, low-effort expression.
The tone of the drawings we observed — pastel colors, bubbly lettering, cartoon frogs — softens the message while still signaling a point of view to anyone who passes. It’s very possible these are associated with the No Kings protests in the area, which make use of the frog symbol.
