Tens of thousands of immigrants, workers, and allies are expected to march and strike today, May Day, “to demonstrate the power, resilience and strength of immigrant communities and progressives in America.” Just this past weekend, 150,000 participated in the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C. Galvanized by popular vote loser Donald Trump’s racist policies and rhetoric, a massive number of demonstrators could make today’s May Day the most well-attended in decades. The resistance is alive and well, indeed:
May Day, falling on the weekend of Donald Trump’s destructive first 100 days, makes for much symbolism in the struggle for justice and the soul of America. While Trump and his administration arbitrarily and ineptly attack immigrants from all over the world—especially Muslims—and the administration works to undermine labor rights across the board, hundreds of thousands of people will be pushing back, striking and protesting Monday in what is shaping up to be the biggest May Day demonstrations in at least 40 years.
The biggest and one of the most unified actions will be in Los Angles, a Democratic stronghold and sanctuary city with a vibrant labor movement and home to hundreds of thousands of immigrants, many of them undocumented.
May 1 RISE UP! events will take place in some 200 cities across 39 states, with many planning on making no purchases today to demonstrate the buying power of immigrants. Others plan on skipping school and work, with tech giant Google among the companies that has “committed to not retaliate against workers who take time off from work to protest.”
“There’s a real galvanization of all the groups this year,” CASA in Action, an immigrant rights group based in Maryland, told USA Today. “Our presence in this country is being questioned by Donald Trump. We are tired of being demonized and scapegoated. We’ve had enough.” In Texas, protesters are staging a sit-in of Greg Abbott’s office, following the Texas House approving Senate Bill 4, an anti-immigrant “show me your papers” law. A live-stream of the action is here.
“Immigrant rights are human rights,” said Dae Joong Yoon, co-director of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium. “The agenda put forth by the administration undermines the very core of our country. As our AAPI communities are no strangers to organizing and resisting, we will continue to elevate our voices and build power for AAPI families. We are proud to rise up with our allies and partners who work to dismantle the systemic threats trying to oppress us.”
To find an event near you, check out the RISE UP! website here, or you can text the words WERISE to 698-66 for more information.