Grand Rapids, MI holds May Day Fiesta
Grand Rapids, MI – Spirits were high on Tuesday, April 30, as attendees celebrated International Workers Day with food, music and discussion. The Freedom Road Socialist Organization held a potluck to commemorate the Haymarket Affair, support Palestine and talk about the conditions and political situation around the country.
Sam Tunningley spoke about Palestine and the countrywide campus solidarity movement and how it’s sweeping the nation; Tom Burke gave highlights and wisdom from his years of union organizing; Cherie Stoll spoke about women and their role in the international socialist movement and the workplace, and Julian Cortez continued with a speech on immigrant rights and the situation at the border.
“We are called to recognize the similarities between the borders which entrap Gaza and Palestinian people and those borders which line the Southwest of the U.S.,” said Cortez.
The final speaker was a member of Movimiento Cosecha Grand Rapids, who spoke about the Drivers License For All campaign. They planned to rally at the Michigan capital of Lansing to protest the rampant discrimination against undocumented workers. This too demonstrated the struggles of working class whose voice is silenced in the United Stares.
The speakers stressed the importance of international solidarity with all the workers of the world who suffer under the brutal system of imperialism.
As speeches concluded, smiles, embraces and further discussion took place, along with feeling of triumph for all the local organizing everyone has done so far. It was in this celebration of small victories that the bonds of friendship and unity were strengthened.