San José, CA – On May 1, thousands gathered at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in the heart of the Chicano/Mexicano community in east San José to kick off May Day. They then marched through downtown to the Arena Greens park. The march was many times larger than the year before, and many unions and community groups were represented. In addition to traditional themes of immigrant and workers’ rights, there were many anti-Trump protesters as well.

One of the new groups was a small contingent of Japanese Americans and American Muslims, who marched with a banner reading: “1942-2017: 75 years of resistance. No to the concentration camps, no to Islamophobia. The banner was carried by members of the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). During the program, Fumiyaki Tosu spoke for the Catholic Worker house, and for the first time ever, the Japanese American drum group, San Jose Taiko, performed at the event.

#SanJoséCA #ImmigrantRights #MayDay #PeoplesStruggles #Antiracism #California