May, a month that celebrates flowers and mothers, also plants the seeds of dissent as protestors take to the streets May 1 for International Workers’ Day, a holiday recognized by labor movements, immigrants rights groups and anti-capitalist activists.
In Seattle, organizers of events celebrating International Workers’ Day are emphasizing immigration reform by advocating for immigration policies that support same-sex marriage and protesting aggressive deportation tactics.
El Comité Pro Reforma Migratoria y Justicia Social is holding an immigrant rights rally and march. The May 1 march will begin in the Central District and end at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building downtown.
The rally will be at Judkins Park, 2150 S. Norman St. at 1:30 p.m. Participants will then march into downtown Seattle, first via Jackson Street, then continuing onto Fourth Avenue. The group will hold another rally with speakers at the Jackson Building at 4:30 p.m.
Soon afterward, the Anti-Capitalist/Anti-State Rally and March will begin at Seattle Central Community College. The group will begin a rally at 6 p.m., followed by a march.
The rally is in honor of an 1886 general strike that ended in violence during a protest at Haymarket Square in Chicago.
In Seattle, the protest will focus on the witnesses held in federal prison for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the property damage that occurred during a May Day march in 2012. The grand jury witnesses were released from prison earlier this year.