May Day

Political discourse meets spontaneous musical theater

By Nicole Jones

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Wielding crimson sickled Soviet flags and sporting red armbands, 100 demonstrators gathered around the Bandstand in Boston Common on Thursday to participate in the May Day Rally in support of immigrant workers' rights. In between frolicking beneath the pink, blossoming elm trees and romping around the springy green lawn, the activists took in some Bolivian folk music and several impassioned speeches outlining the travails of modern-day laborers.

May Day, or International Workers' Day, is observed worldwide in recognition of the labor movement. David Schaich, secretary of the Boston chapter of Socialist Party USA, said it's also considered a day of general protest. "May Day is the historical holiday of the left-wing social movements. Since Socialism has been an integral part of that, we had to come down," he explained as he manned the Socialist Party booth.

In the US, May Day has been linked with the fight for immigrant workers' rights. In 2006, for "A Day Without an Immigrant," more than a million people marched all over the US to showcase the importance of immigrants on the economy.

David Rohrlich, a mathematics professor at Boston University, attended to protest Massachusetts' treatment of migrant workers. "I support this specific rally opposing raids on immigrants. What happened in New Bedford was disgraceful," he said, referring to the March 2007 Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid of Michael Bianco, Inc. in New Bedford, where 361 undocumented workers were arrested. Most of the workers were women with young children, and the state was blamed for breaking up families.

William Leonard, a Socialist Workers Party member attempting to run for state senate, tried to rally support for his campaign. In Massachusetts, the Socialist Workers Party doesn't have official ballot status, so he needs to collect enough signatures to get himself on the ballot.

"I just want to say: Stop raids. Stop deportation. Legalization for all immigrants!" Leonard railed.

The event's real entertainment was provided by a second group of protestors who showed up to antagonize the May Day rally-goers by shouting anti-illegal immigration jeers, like, "We don't want to support your illegitimate babies," and wielding contentious and paradoxical signs reading, "Stop Illegal Immigration! Save the American Dream."

The May Day enthusiasts took the bait and a shouting match devolved into a sing-along duel. A scruffy rally attendee with a guitar began a confrontational round of "This Land is Your Land." The anti-illegal immigration protestors retaliated by bellowing the chorus of "Born in the USA."

Dennis Coull, a former teamster, was the opposition's head cheerleader. Clutching a megaphone and flanked by two-dozen burly followers (and one guy in an Uncle Sam outfit), he explained, "We're just protesting the illegal alien march around Boston. We're a bunch of patriots showing up today to debate."

"B" Sanders, a more belligerent immigration protestor who declined to give her first name, agreed. "I shouldn't have to do this," she said, donning a slogan-covered sandwich board. "We want the laws enforced. That's it."

Daniel Becker, 21, is a Tufts senior and co-founder of Students at Tufts Acting for Immigrant Rights (STAIR). "Unfortunately I think what they're mobilizing around is a scapegoat," he said of the anti-illegal immigration protestors.

Genevie Gold, 21, is a co-founder of STAIR. "I think it's important to make sure people know we haven't forgotten the issue of immigrant rights," she said. "At this time the movement is in a bit of a lull, but we need a viable solution."

Maria Christina Blanco, 30, a community health worker, brought her eight-year-old daughter to see the spectacle. They made their pro-immigration T-shirts the night before and were eating ice cream cones as they watched the show. "This is an election year, and immigration for a long time has been a scapegoat for all the problems in this country," she said. Her daughter's father is a migrant worker from Mexico. "Last year we started to see workplace raids. The federal government wants to expand this ... the whole country is going to be a militarized war zone. Is Massachusetts going to accept that?"