April 28, 2026: May Day

Two different but compatible events will converge at Forsyth Park on Friday, Mak 1, aka May Day:  one to shut down the system and the second more in line with May Day’s roots of supporting labor.  Co-hosts Opollo and Barbara, and guests Lauren, Amanda and Alice first discussed the racialization of resources that has resulted in disparities that impact the black and brown communities in Savannah and the rest of the country that warrants a larger discussion, going back to its roots in 1607 to today, and strategies to overcome these disparities.

We then talked about one May Day event, Shut It Down, led in Savannah by the Party for Socialism and Liberation.  Lauren explained that volunteers are visiting places of work and elsewhere to encourage business and their workers, students, consumers and others to shut for the day.  They plan to meet at Forsyth at 5 pm and march to City Hall.  A second group, led by Migrant Equity Southeast, will celebrate all labor, focusing specifically migrant labor, and the impacts of ICE detentions and deportation.  MESE will   The agency is asking Savannah to stand up for immigrant rights to ensure they have equitable access to resources.  You can show your support for MESE by coming to Forsyth Friday at 5 and also to donate mutual aid (food and money) to bring to families impacted by detention/deportation and attend their fundraiser at the Front Porch on Thursday, May 7.

We all agreed that the resurgence of May Day brings that holiday, commemorating the martyrs of the Haymarket rally in Chicago, back to the USA.  

Next week, on May 5, we will split Voices of Resistance into 2 segments.  In the first, we will talk about the origins of Cinco de Mayo as Mexican resistance against the French to try to take control of the country and then to the origins of Mothers Day, celebrated this year on May 10, beginning with Julia Ward Howe, who urged for the creation of a “Mother’s Day For Peace” when mothers would ask that their husbands and sons were no longer killed in wars.