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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Celebrate Mayday in Urbana-Champaign |
Current rating: 0 |
by Mike Lehman
(No verified email address) |
25 Apr 2001
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May 1 will bring a Mayday celebration to the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois Quad. |
Mayday had its origins in an ancient Celtic festival of spring. During a strike for the
eight-hour day which began on May 1, 1889, four workers were killed by police in
Chicago. At a memorial service for the dead, a bomb exploded among the police,
who responded by opening fire on the crowd. Eight labor leaders were sentenced
to die for their alleged complicity in the attack on the police. In the wake of this
event, Mayday was declared an international day dedicated to workers. Today
most countries, except the United States, recognize it as Labor Day.
A coalition of local labor and progressive groups will be celebrating Mayday
Tuesday, May 1 on the Quad from 11am to 2pm. At noon the bells of Altgeld Hall,
named after the Illinois governor who pardoned the last three of the convicted
workers, will play the "Internationale," which is considered the anthem of the
working class. There will be a number of speakers and performers on the South
Patio of the Illini Union from noon to 1pm. Everyone is invited to attend.
This event is in conjunction with Socialist Forum, Champaign County Living Wage
Association, Colombia Support Network, GEO, SEIU Local 880, UPE, Women
Against Racism, Interfaith Council, Green Party, YWCA, Common Ground Food
Co-op, Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, School for Designing A
Society, Associated Newspoets.
Speakers and performers include Jim Barrett, Marianne Ferber, Minkah Makalani,
Sarah Kanouse, Ron Peters, Mike Griffin, Maria Silva, and Paul Kotheimer and possibly other local people just back from Quebec. |
