Put Aside the May Pole:
March for Immigrants' Rights!
 As I prepare to participate in tomorrow's May Day March for Immigrant Rights, I try to recall memories of May Day celebrations during my childhood. I remember a class project on the May Pole and extra recess time, but I cannot recall any memory of a lesson, unit, or class speaker that touched on the history of May Day. It was not until I was eighteen years-old that I learned about the true importance of May Day. In my history classes in college, I learned about the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when a bomb was thrown in a rally to demand the eight-hour work day and police fired into the crowd. Eight anarchist activists were tried for murder and four were executed with little evidence and a biased jury. As a result, workers and labor unions around the world took to celebrating what became known as International Workers' Day with parades, marches, and civil disobedience. For many countries, May Day is a holiday from work. However, the U.S. Government has refused to join the global festivities around May Day. For example, in 1884, Congress passed an act making the first Monday of every September Labor Day in an effort to disassociate labor activism from the radical left. Moreover, in 1957 then President Dwight Eisenhower co-opted May Day and renamed it "Law Day" to celebrate the importance of the rule of law in society. Learning about May Day made me put aside the May Pole and join my brothers and sisters around the world to mobilize for justice.
El Salvador: President-elect invited to May Day celebrations.
 In El Salvador, tens of thousands of people, including social movements, student groups, labor unions, churches, leftist political parties, and women's groups, commemorate El Día Internacional del Trabajo (Labor Day) every year with an enormous march that starts at El Salvador del Mundo and marches downtown to the National Cathedral. This Labor Day will certainly have a more feverish, celebratory tone than ever, since, on March 15, 2009, the Salvadoran people elected Mauricio Funes (FMLN) as President of El Salvador, marking the end of the 20-year rule by the conservative ARENA party and the first-ever election of a leftist candidate. Groups involved in planning with the Labor Day march have invited President-elect Mauricio Funes to participate in the march. Marina Peña, SHARE's El Salvador Office Director noted, "This is the first time civil society has invited a president or president-elect to participate in a Labor Day activity. The people of El Salvador have high hopes for Mauricio Funes and the future of the country and the labor movement."
United States: March for immigrant rights
 In spite of the fact that the U.S. Government refuses to take recognize May Day, groups across the United States commemorate the Haymarket Massacre and the achievements of the labor movement every year. This year, many groups are taking to the streets to stand up for immigrant workers who make up a large portion of the work force and whose rights are violated every day due to xenophobic, racist policies. David Thurston, Casa de Maryland's Anti-Racism Organizer, urged, "This is a critical time for all those who support the immigrant community to mobilize. Barack Obama has restated his commitment to putting forward immigration reform legislation this year. We need to mobilize to make sure that this change becomes reality. Only powerful mobilizations can ensure that immigration reform proposals will be truly inclusive of the entire community at risk of deportation."
On Friday, May 1st, the SHARE Foundation will participate in the National Capital Immigrant Coalition's (NCIC) march in Washington, DC in support of immigrants' rights, demanding:
- Stop the raids and deportations;
- Just and humane immigration reform; and
- End the 287(g) Agreements that allow local authorities to enforce unjust immigration law.
To participate in the march in DC, meet us at 3PM at Malcolm X Park (for directions, click here) and we will march to the White House at 4PM.
Let's take back May Day for its true purpose and stand in solidarity with the immigrant community. ¡Adelante!
- Sara Skinner, US Grassroots Coordinator
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