May Day Protests Kick Off: 'Everybody Is Under Attack'

From worker rights rallies to marches for social justice, activists around the globe kicked off May Day demonstrations on Thursday, with thousands expected at demonstrations from Tokyo to Chicago. In some countries, it's a public holiday honoring labor, but activists planning marches in the US say much of their message is about fighting back against President Trump's policies targeting immigrants, federal workers, and diversity programs, per the AP. Fear sowed by the Trump administration is expected to keep some immigrants home. "Everybody is under attack right now," said Jorge Mujica, a labor leader from Chicago. More:

• Beginnings: The roots of May Day, aka International Workers' Day, stretch back to the 1880s, when unions pushing for better workplace conditions began advocating for an eight-hour workday with widespread demonstrations and strikes. In May 1886, a Chicago labor rally turned deadly when a bomb was thrown and police retaliated with gunfire. Several labor activists, most immigrants, were convicted of conspiracy to incite violence, among other charges; four were hanged. Unions later recommended that workers be honored every May 1.
• US: May Day marches and rallies have taken place in recent years. This year, organizers in numerous cities are calling for unity across many causes and groups, including a rally in New York, a worker rights rally at Philadelphia City Hall with Sen. Bernie Sanders, and demonstrations at the Colorado State Capitol and in Los Angeles, Seattle, and DC.

• Focus on immigration: While labor and immigrant rights are historically intertwined, the focus of May Day rallies in the US shifted to immigration in 2006. That's when roughly 1 million people took to the streets to protest federal legislation that would've made living in the US without legal permission a felony. This year in Chicago, organizers say their focus is workers rights, but also rising anti-immigrant rhetoric from the Trump administration. "There's a lot fear out there," said Chicago organizer Omar Lopez.
• Worldwide: In some places, May Day is a public holiday for workers, including France, Kenya, Russia, and China, where it lasts five days. It's also a traditional spring celebration observed in ways that don't involve marching in the streets or civil disobedience. In Hawaii, for instance, May 1 is called Lei Day, a statewide celebration of the Hawaiian culture and the aloha spirit through the creation and giving of a lei.

More here. (More May Day stories.)