Thousands of people gathered in MacArthur Park Monday for an annual May Day march through downtown Los Angeles in what organizers call a show of “resistance, unity and defiance” to what they call a White House effort to ramp up deportations and erode personal freedoms.
“It’s about showing that people who are working-class matter,” marcher Miguel Cruz told CBS2 as the crowd gathered at MacArthur Park, preparing for the trek to City Hall.
Various organizations that have planned marches in the past joined forces this year, uniting under the banner “May Day Coalition of Los Angeles” and organizing the march from MacArthur Park to Los Angeles City Hall. The march has been dubbed “Resist Los Angeles.”
It marks the first time in more than 10 years there has been such unity among organizers of May Day marches. Organizers predicted that more than 100,000 people will participate in the “Resist Los Angeles” event. The march is expected to begin about noon.
Shortly after 11 a.m., several thousand people were assembled in the park, but there was no official estimate of the crowd size.
Juan Jose Gutierrez, national coordinator of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, said the march will send a message to the administration of President Donald Trump that “our just struggle for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship is here to stay until we win it.”
Organizers also called for a general strike in recognition of May Day.
“Together we know that we can stop a Trump agenda, a Trump agenda that wants to build a wall, not build better lives, but build a wall. We know that if we march on May 1 we can continue to stop an agenda that seeks to penalize workers,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA.
Among those expected to speak at a May Day rally are Mayor Eric Garcetti, County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl, various religious and union leaders and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles.
Despite the declaration of unity among more than 100 organizations, a separate march is also planned under the banner of Full Rights for Immigrants. The procession is expected to begin at Olympic Boulevard and Broadway, heading north on Broadway for a rally between First and Second streets.
At 3:30 p.m., another march will be held in Boyle Heights, beginning at Cesar Chavez Avenue and Evergreen Street and ending at Mariachi Plaza at First and Boyle streets.
Meanwhile, a group of pro-Trump activists held a small gathering of its own outside the federal building in downtown Los Angeles. That gathering got tense when a some anti-Trump activists showed up and began exchanging words with the pro-Trump forces. Los Angeles police eventually restored order, and there were no reports of any violence or arrests.
Jo Reitkopp, chair of event organizer “Make California Great Again Inc.,” said Trump supporters wanted to “step up and stand for our country and its Constitution … for which millions of USA military men and women have lost their lives.”
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck vowed that officers would be out in force to ensure the demonstration remains peaceful. He asked marchers to remember that his officers are in support of them and are not representatives of the federal government.
“My message is this: I know there are a lot of folks that are upset about recent immigration issues, have other issues with the federal government. You know, remember this is our city. Your police department supports you,” Beck said during a recent appearance on ABC7. “We depend upon your cooperation. And let’s make this a demonstration of L.A. unity and not the things that divide us.”
Representatives from some community groups have called for a general strike in conjunction with the marches, even encouraging students to either not attend school or walk out of classes. There was even a call for the Los Angeles Unified School District to close for the day, but the district rejected the request.
“At the heart of this decision is our unwavering commitment to keep kids safe,” LAUSD Superintendent Michelle King wrote in a letter in early April. “Civic engagement undeniably plays a vital role in our democracy, and we embrace the rights of all students, families and employees to unite and magnify their voices locally so that their messages can resonate on a larger scale.
Nevertheless, schools continue to be the safest places for students to incubate an interest in civic engagement, and we encourage all schools to use May 1 as an opportunity to discuss matters of civic importance,” King wrote.
Some students have taken part in walkouts during past May Day events, but it was unclear if any similar actions were planned.
Another walkout is also possible at Los Angeles International Airport, where unionized service workers are engaged in contract negotiations.
—City News Service