Freedom Road Socialist Organization celebrates May Day in Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, May 3, the Twin Cities district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization celebrated the great proletarian holiday of May Day – International Workers Day. The event took place at the Lucy Parsons Center in Minneapolis. The celebration included grilling, live musical performances, and a lineup of speakers from various people’s movements active in the Twin Cities.
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., on a beautiful 65-degree sunny day, around 150 attendees joined a cookout while listening to musical performances, that included songs of struggle and resistance. People sat together and ate and talked. Participants int the evert included labor organizers, immigrant rights organizers, student, anti-war, climate and reproductive rights organizers, leaders in the fight against police crimes and for community control of the police along with others. All shared stories of struggle, victories and defeats.
The May Day cookout brought together activists and revolutionaries to celebrate and recognize how all their different struggles are united in the conflict between the billionaire ruling class and the great masses of people.
The last year has seen many battles for the people’s movement. The continued genocide in Gaza, plus the election of Donald Trump unleashing a new wave of reactionary attacks on immigrants, unions, trans people, and more means that those who choose to participate in the people’s struggle and resist these attacks have had their work cut out for them. The cookout and program event created a space for people to unwind, share in solidarity with each other, and celebrate the fighting spirit of the working class.
In addition to an impressive list of speakers from many organizations fighting for change in Minnesota, the attendees honored fallen fighters with an “In Memoriam” dedication video, as well as highlighting internationalism and the worldwide nature of the struggle against monopoly capitalism with a slideshow of May Day celebrations around the world. The energized, excited crowd closed out the event with a sing-along of the communist anthem, The Internationale.
Keeping the unity of all the different people’s movements in mind, the speaker lineup was diverse and varied. Attendees heard from Dieu Do from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee; Siobhan Moore of Minnesota Workers United and Teamsters Local 638; Angel Smith El of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice; Carolyn Handke from the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee; Katherine Bodor from the Climate Justice Committee; Ivonne Hernandez movement for justice for street vendors; Becca Mertes, a Delta flight attendant organizing with the Association of Flight Attendants' unionization effort; Leila Yorek Sundin from the University of Minnesota chapter of Students for a Democratic Society; Allison Gunderson from the Anti-War Committee; Jae Yates from the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization; and a musical performance by Naveen Borojerdi on guitar and signing.
Sydney Loving gave the main speech for Freedom Road Socialist Organization. In her speech Loving laid out the history of May Day and the importance of continuing to celebrate this workers’ holiday. The following is a portion of Loving’s speech:
“The ruling class and big business in this country, they hate May Day and did all they could do to bury it during the anticommunist repression of the 1950s. This was the cold war where every progressive idea was under attack. They renamed May 1 as “Law and Order Day.” This day belongs to the people – we know right from wrong better than their version of law and order. Fighting back is right, and this system is wrong. One day in this country we’re gonna have our version of law and order. And the capitalists sitting up there on Wall Street and in the White House – they’re going to be treated like the criminals they are. As always, they were terrified of the people knowing our real history. Not one of submission, but a history of struggle. Not only the eight-hour day, but also the weekend, the right to unionize, health and safety rules, unemployment insurance, welfare and social security. Everything Trump is going after now, making enemies and bringing them into this fight. Victories for workers weren’t just given to us. They were fought for and won by the people, and we are carrying the torch forward.”
The May Day cookout and program marked another year in struggle by some of the Twin Cities area’s most dedicated fighters and left attendees feeling re-energized to take on another year fighting for the people.