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Eleanor Bader Lazaroff

Sunrise Twin Cities and Third Act protesters unite against Wells Fargo.

The morning of Tuesday, Nov. 19, protesters from Sunrise Twin Cities and Third Act, a climate justice organization of activists over 60 years old, raised their voices over the rumble of rush hour traffic and rain showers to call upon Wells Fargo to divest from fossil fuel financing.

Gathered outside the Wells Fargo Center at 550 S. 4th St. in Minneapolis from 8-8:50 a.m., protesters voiced their grievances as employees attempted to find an entrance that hadn’t been blocked off by security in light of the protest.

Their demands centered on discrepancies between Wells Fargo’s climate commitments and investment practices. Wells Fargo highlighted their donations of about $23 million in “sustainability-focused grants to nonprofit organizations” in their 2023 Sustainability & Governance Report. In the same year, the corporation also financed more than $30 billion into the fossil fuel industry, according to a “Banking on Climate Chaos” 2024 Fossil Fuel Finance Report. This makes Wells Fargo the fifth largest financier of fossil fuels in international banking.

Third Act’s members identify themselves as “experienced Americans” in the “third act of their life” dedicated to “[changing] the world for the better,” specifically defending the planet, according to their website. Founded by environmentalist Bill McKibbin and currently guided by a volunteer advisory council led by Akaya Windwood, the organization participates in protests, campaigns and working groups all over the country aimed at protecting democracy and the environment.

“They’ve got a campaign for the top five banks to divest from fossil fuels, because really, investments from banks like Wells Fargo are the things that are sustaining these extractive industries,” Jesse Terry ’25, a leader of the Macalester chapter of the Sunrise Movement, said about the Third Act.

Sunrise is an organization whose main focus is fighting against climate change and for Green New Deal policies. “We are fighting for what science demands,” their website states. To Sunrise, this entails government action that appropriately addresses the scale, scope and urgency of the climate crisis.

What sets the organization apart from other environmental groups is that it’s specifically aimed at mobilizing young people “to take to the streets and disrupt business-as-usual.” Similar to Third Act, Sunrise is built on generational power and unity, the supposition that anyone, no matter their age, can make a positive difference on this planet.

Students from Macalester’s Sunrise hub packed into vans at 7 a.m., arriving in downtown Minneapolis shortly before 7:50 a.m. From there, they joined protesters from Third Act outside the skyway connecting the Jerry Hoff Memorial Parking Ramp to the Wells Fargo Center. Carrying signs and an array of banners, they hoped to gain entrance to Wells Fargo’s lobby and a meeting with higher-ups.

Instead, they were met with three Allied Universal security guards, who closed the entrance to employees and protesters alike. Protesters hung a banner reading “Youth + elders say divest from fossil fuels” on the skyway window before moving to the building’s front entrance.

Security had also shut down the front entrance and directed employees to the side door while protesters chanted “Wells Fargo must divest! Mother Earth needs a rest!” outside the front entrance. As employees passed, a member of Third Act offered them pamphlets containing more information about the cause.

Arriving in front of the Wells Fargo Center in the midst of the morning commute was an intentional move to reach out to employees more directly, Third Act co-facilitator Carolyn Ham explained. Ham compared the strategy to the Summer of Heat campaign against fossil fuel investments on Wall Street, which involved a series of early morning disruptions as Wall Street opened.

“I kind of think it’s hilarious, but it gives us a lot of power; if we can, just by having 30 people show up, have [Wells Fargo] completely disrupt their day and make employees have to go in a secret entrance and whatnot, then I think it’s a success,” Ham said.

At 8:50 a.m., Third Act and Sunrise Twin Cities marched up and down S. 4th Avenue for the length of two blocks before departing.

Terry expressed some disappointment with the protest’s outcome, but also maintained his positivity in the events of that morning.

“[I’m] disappointed that we couldn’t get into the building … but I think we did disrupt the work day, like the employees couldn’t go in through their regular entrance,” Terry said, echoing Ham’s feelings following the protest. “They can’t go about their work day without thinking about what Wells Fargo is doing.”

According to Terry, this isn’t the protest’s end or the beginning. Neither organization is planning on stopping anytime soon.

“This is just one action in a larger campaign, and to me the most significant part feels like as young people, as student organizers, building our own skills, and this just being the first practice, in a longer mobilization,” Terry said. “I feel good about that. We definitely learned about what works, what maybe doesn’t work as well… and how to be better prepared for the next action.”

Those involved also recognized the significance in the generational gap at play. One poster read “Youth and Elders: say divest from fossil fuels,” and speakers switched between groups with the intention of showcasing solidarity between generations.

Terry echoed the importance of having Third Act out with them: “in the climate space, there’s a lot of different groups with different names that advocate for slightly different things, but we’re all fighting for the same purpose. And I think working with a group like Third Act is awesome, because one of their missions is to support youth and to support the next generation.”

Ham expressed similar sentiments.

“[The] climate crisis is impacting every single one of us, so we need everyone on board,” Ham said. “There’s definitely some guilt in terms of [feeling like] our generation failed current and future generations, so recognizing that we need to stand up and help the folks that are going to carry on after we’re gone, is definitely part of it.”

Ham also explained the choice to target Wells Fargo as part of an effort to cut off the funding that sustains the fossil fuel industry. In this way, Ham sees hope for climate activism advancing without reliance on pushing forward government climate regulations.

“The fossil fuel industry — we can’t impact them,” Ham said. “They don’t care, but they’re just going to ruin the planet … so we have to say, ‘well, where are the levers that we can push?’ If we could cut off their financing — or even if we don’t cut off their financing, if we make it more expensive for them — that can stop a project.”

In his speech at the protest, Terry reminded attendees that the Sunrise Movement began during President-Elect Donald Trump’s first term in office and emphasized that, for those outside the Wells Fargo Center, a change in president does not mean an end to organizing.

“Over these next four years, we’re going to mobilize like hell,” Terry said. “There have been walkouts on campuses across the country over the past few weeks. There’ll be student strikes and local takeovers in 2025 and 2026, sustained disruption in 2027, the general strike in 2028 and we’re going to win a Green New Deal president in 2029. We’ll show our government, our schools, banks — like Wells Fargo — that we cannot afford to wait around for climate change.”

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