Richmonders took the streets Saturday to commemorate the second annual May Day parade, calling for more civilian and governmental action to remedy social injustice in the city.
Hundreds of people gathered at Abner Clay Park in Richmond
’s Jackson Ward neighborhood to celebrate workers and denounce inequality. Waving a sea of black and red flags, the crowd chanted in protest of political and social oppression. Children and baby boomers marched together to the beat of drums and string instruments through the streets of Richmond. Members of the Virginia socialist party and other leftist groups were also part of Saturday’s parade.
“It’s time to raise consciousness about these problems that are affecting us today,” said filmmaker and founder of Militant Pedestrian Productions Jen Lawhorne. “There’s a lot of work that has to be done to improve conditions for workers but we have to start somewhere.”
The May Day celebrations started on Friday with workshops offered by endorsing groups such as the Virginia Peoples Assembly and the Richmond Peace Education Center. The worshops offered lectures in self-reliance as well as information on other political movements in Virginia. Saturday’s events consisted of a rally followed by the parade which started on Clay street and continued into Broad street. 
Unlike last May Day, this year’s parade was authorized by the Richmond police department. May Day organizer and founder Kenneth Yates spontaneously started the parade with Bizhan Khodabandeh in 2009, but they were soon confronted by the city’s police. Yates says the special events division of the Richmond’s police department wanted them to pay for off duty officers if they wanted to hold the event this year.
“We saw this as an infringement on our First Amendment Right to peaceably assemble and free speech,” said Yates. “We decided that we did not want to set the precedent, and we also did not have the budget to pay for officers.”
The May Day organizers obtained a permit after an extensive letter writing campaign to the chief of police and the city mayor.
“May Day is an important day for the working class,” said Yates. “There aren’t any holidays celebrating the achievements of the people around social justice issues pertaining to workers rights and human rights in general. We thought it to be a good opportunity to help unify the various causes in Richmond that were increasingly losing foot in the community.”
May Day is also known as International Workers Day a holiday that is observed worldwide to commemorate the accomplishments of the labor movement in the late 1880s. Historically, May Day marks the anniversary of the strike that prompted the 1886 Haymarket massacre which resulted in the deaths of many labor movement activists. Since 1890 labor activists, socialists and anarchists have celebrated May 1 as a holiday to improve the status of workers around the world.
Richmond’s May Day celebrations addressed issues that affect the community and the city’s working class. Topics at Saturday’s rally were varied and ranged from gentrification to reproductive justice and prison reform. Although different from each other, all speakers at the rally emphasized the need to fight for equality.
“These disparate issues are the cause of many other problems like classism, homophobia and racism,” said Brennan Chambre a Virginia Commonwealth University student and member of Students For Social Action at VCU. “We all need to come together as part of a greater struggle.”
Many attendees recognized the struggle that immigrant workers face. Speakers at the rally condemned the recent passage of Arizona’s new immigration law. Many attendees believed that the new law will increase and promote racial profiling as well as other right infringements.
“Laws like this is why we need to come out to events like today’s,” said Luis Oyola, a University of Virginia student and member of the Charlottesville Food not Bombs. “We can change the domination and oppression by congregating and taking back the streets.”
The supporters at the parade Saturday are clearly taking back the streets but they’re not the only ones. 2010 has proven to be highly political for the city. The second May Day parade coincidentally took place only month after the Second Tea Party Rally was held in downtown Richmond. The right-wing tea party is almost a counter to the May Day sympathizers on the left. However, to May Day organizers the important thing is political action.
“There are numerous people who are being oppressed,” said Daniel Bickett a student at VCU and a May Day organizer. “If you’re not affected by it now you will soon and that’s why we need to take action now.”
For more information on the May Day demonstrations go to www.maydayrva.org
| Food not Bombs is a group of activists who cook and serve vegetarian meals for free. The meals are all prepared by volunteers. In Richmond, the Food not Bombs charter prepares the food on Sundays between noon and 3:30 p.m. at 2005 Barton Ave. They then go to Monroe Park at around 4 p.m. and give out free meals to the needy or to any passerby. If you would like to get involved with Food not Bombs you can go to any of these locations and talk to a volunteer. You can also reach them by phone, email or by accessing their website. |
| Richmond P.O. Box 5688 Richmond, VA 23220 804-303-5449 a16rva@hotmail.com www.myspace.com/richmondfnb |
