Tens of thousands of people in 120 cities and across 35 states are estimated to participate in strikes, teach-ins, rallies, and marches during a RISE UP! national day of action “to demonstrate the power, resilience and strength of immigrant communities and progressives in America.” Thomas Kennedy, an immigrant rights organizer from Florida, writes in the Huffington Post:
This May Day we will continue to take to the streets to call for what we believe is a progressive platform centered on people that truly empowers and looks out for our communities. We call for a return to real and humane debate over immigration, a raise in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, the end of the for-profit prison system, affordable college education, voter restoration rights to the thousands of disenfranchised voters across the country, equal rights for the LGBTQ community, and climate justice to protect communities, such as those in Florida, that are on the front lines of climate change and sea level rise.
Over 90 national organizations are throwing down, including the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, MoveOn, Indivisible, the American Federation of Teachers, the Service Employees International Union, the Human Rights Campaign, Bend the Arc, America’s Voice, and dozens of other progressive champions. While popular vote loser Donald Trump has pursued a racist anti-immigrant agenda, a fierce resistance from the grassroots has also dealt him setback after setback. Participants aim to keep that up.
Americans are supporting immigration at record levels—while handing Trump record-low approval numbers—and people power has fought back his failed Muslim bans, his racist border wall, defended the Affordable Care Act, won historic anti-deportation legislation in states like California, kept DACA for Dreamers alive, and made clear that attacking and tearing apart hardworking immigrant families goes against the very moral fiber of our country.
According to organizers, students plan to strike in states like Pennsylvania, and hundreds of businesses are closing nationally for the day. Many plan on skipping work—Google is among the companies that has “committed to not retaliate against workers who take time off from work to protest.” Others plan to make no purchases for the day “to show that our country will not move forward without our immigrant neighbors.” All are encouraged to find local events to attend in a sign of solidarity with immigrants and their families.
“The breadth and diversity of actions coming together is truly inspiring,” said Kica Matos, spokesperson for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement. “Many places will treat May 1st as a no work, no school, no purchases, ‘Day without Immigrants.’ Some will engage in marches. There are story telling events, live music, know your rights trainings and teach-ins. In Colorado there will be a Coors boycott. In Arkansas, everyone is being asked to wear white. Never before have we seen such a powerful combination of protest, celebration and serious power building.”
“This moment has also sparked a wave of activism and organizing not seen in a long time in this country,” Kennedy continues on in his piece. “Keeping families together is an American value that must be defended with all the urgency and passion we can muster.”
May 1 events can be found on the RISE UP! website here, or you can text the words WERISE to 698-66 for more information. Below, Reform Immigration FOR America’s must-watch “Rise Up Together” video, created by filmmaker Frank Chi.