Atlanta says, ‘Defend immigrant and worker’s rights!’ for May Day
Atlanta, GA – On Saturday, May 2, over 100 community members gathered outside the ICE field office to celebrate International Workers’ Day and demand an end to the deportations.
This action brought together several people’s movements, with the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) leading the charge. Over 20 organizations co-sponsored the event, including Black liberation organizations such as Strike Black and BLM Grassroots and immigrant defense organizations such as Sur Legal Collaborative.
Speeches highlighted that we are almost a year and a half into Trump’s second term, and attacks on all our communities keep escalating. Workers have seen the gutting of the NLRB and OSHA regulations, Black folks have seen major attacks on voting rights and even less accountability for police crimes, and immigrants have seen the brutality of ICE kidnappings and deportations. On top of how the working class suffers in the U.S., we have to foot the bill as the U.S. wages war and exports violence and suffering all over the world.
Gail Sall addressed the crowd about her husband Amary Sall, who was kidnapped by ICE and deported back to Senegal. Sall highlighted the struggle of having her husband stolen from her while she has to continue running the business they used to operate together. She urged attendees to continue organizing and continue the pressure to #BringAmaryHome.
While the community continues the fight for Amary and Gail, hope for a better world is alive and well as Atlanta celebrates the release of Rodney Taylor. Taylor is a beloved barber in the community and a double-amputee who was detained by ICE and threatened to be sent to Liberia, where he was born. Because of the tireless work of the #FreeRodneyTaylor campaign, he was released – perfectly demonstrating the power of getting organized to defend immigrants and workers this May Day.
FRSO member Brandon Pink stated, “Now is not the time to be fatigued or demoralized. Now is the time to resist attacks on the working class, resist attacks on our immigrant brothers and sisters, and get organized. Whether it’s on the shop floor or in the streets – organize. That is the work that is done between these marches and rallies and the other 364 days of the year. The working class has a world to win, and we will never win more than when we are ready to fight!”