As April came to a close, the beginning of May was commemorated this year at Houghton Park in Long Beach as 21 different organizations hosted an event for International Workers’ Day.
Hosted by the May Day Long Beach Coalition, 21 different organizations sponsored this event including the Long Beach Area Peace Network, the Coalition for Latino Advancement at LBBC, and the Palestenian Youth Movement among many others.
May Day is a public holiday started in 1889 to commemorate the Haymarket massacre in Chicago, a tragic event in 1886 that left eleven people dead and countless injured after a bomb was thrown into a crowd of workers striking for an eight hour work day.
The event became an example of the social unrest from the working class. In the present day, activists use it as a day to organize and educate others about racial, economical, and political inequalities affecting their communities.
After a nearly two hour caravan ride stretching all over Long Beach, activists from local organizations such as the Long Beach Immigrants Rights Coalition, Black Lives Matter, and the Long Beach Tenants Union addressed the crowd about the importance of standing together on such a historic day.
Dancing and photo ops took place as the park began to fill with more organizers and curious people from the surrounding neighborhoods.
The event was formally kicked off with a land acknowledgment from Tahesha Christensen, an activist with the Puvunga Wetland Protectors. They are dedicated to protecting the Los Cerritos wetlands, a portion of land covering hundreds of acres in Long Beach, Seal Beach, and the San Gabriel River.
They also fight to protect tribal cultural landscapes as well as the preservation of local land, waters, and wildlife.
Christensen spoke to the crowd about the importance of fighting against oil expansion on native lands. She announced that their organization is suing the California Coastal Commission for their plans to severely damage the land by adding oil drills.
A sign that read, “Sanctuary City For All” was held by two organzers as speakers representing the May Day Long Beach Coalition voiced their support for abolishing ICE and cancelling Title 42, a provision of a U.S. health law that allows for the CDC to turn asylum seekers away.
They specifically addressed Mayor Garcia’s recent decision to house unaccompanied minors from the U.S.-Mexico border at the Long Beach Convention Center in downtown.
They had also urged Mayor Garcia to reunify the children with their families and close the encampment by August 2nd.
Hoku Jefferson, an organizer for the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN for short, thinks this issue falls on the President.
“President Biden needs to grant the children and their families refugee status now and declare a humanitarian crisis at the border in order for [the] children to be freed from the detention centers and be reunited with their families,” Jefferson said.
Even though Mayor Garcia has ensured the public that the migrant children are being taken care of accordingly, activists believe the conditions are still inhumane.
The next speaker was Carina Rodriguez, a community organizer for Long Beach Immigrants Rights Coalition.
Standing in front of a sign reading, “LBCC Says Protection Not Detention,” she spoke about how the children being held at the convention center is a direct result of the Biden administration’s inability to address systemic issues.
“Children belong with families and not in convention centers,” Rodriguez claimed.
Next was Jazlyn Tabar, a representative for Anakbayan Long Beach, was next to address the crowd. She spoke about the importance of supporting activists in the Philippines who are fighting for democracy. Anakbayan is a local organization led by Filipino youth to address issues that are happening in the United States and the Philippines.Â
“We are here because we are agitated. We are angry that every day millions of workers are losing their jobs, we are struggling to make a living wage, we are forced under unsafe, unfair, and abusive working conditions,” Tabar claimed.
Other speakers addressed issues such as the fight to raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour as well as the need to demand affordable housing in Long Beach.
Steven Estrada spoke as the representative for the Long Beach Communist Party of the USA and encouraged the crowd to hold elected officials accountable.
“The Communist Party USA thinks it’s time for workers of the world, those of us living in the valley… to climb that mountain top and kick those who exploit us… those who oppress us off from the top [of] it,” Estrada said.
Estrada also announced that he would be running for District 1 Long Beach City Council member in the upcoming election.
The event ended with organizers leading the crowd in a chant demanding justice from public officials. Attendees cheered as the speakers gave their demands for equality in all aspects of life.
There was a sense of mutual understanding that laws and legislations will only change through the power of the people. As the DJ played “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang and the crowd dispersed, people talked about meeting up for more rallies in the future.
If you are interested in learning more about any of the 21 organizations that fight for Justice in Long Beach, visit the May Day Long Beach Coalition website at: https://maydaylongbeach.wordpress.com/about/