In the United States, protesters vowed to participate in civil disruptions throughout the day to draw attention to the importance of immigrants in American communities. "On this day, we will not go to work. We will not go to school. We will not buy anything," said Francisca Santiago, a farmworker from Homestead, Florida.
Thousands of Latino immigrants, activists, workers and allies took to the streets on Monday to join in on the national Day Without Immigrants strike. People in more than 40 cities across the country marched and protested.
In Grand Rapids, MI, a group of immigrants asked for acceptance, celebrated their heritage and pledged to fight for the rights they say are being denied and disrespected. Hundreds took part in the second "Day Without Immigrants" march on Monday, May 1.
Since election night 2016, people all over the country have woken up with the conviction that they must do something to fight inequality, but many are wondering what it is they can do. Here, a conversation with Gloribell Mota, an organizer with Neighbors United for a Better East Boston who is serving as the Boston coordinator for Movimiento Cosecha's May Day event.
Cosecha is planning strikes and marches in over 40 cities across the country, along with mass student walkouts and escalated actions.
“On this day, we will not go to work. We will not send our children to school. We will not buy anything,” said Francisca Santiago, a farmworker from Homestead, Florida who will be joining the May 1st Strike. “We are the workers who harvest and prepare food, who repair homes, who come into office buildings after 7pm to clean them. But on May 1st, instead of going to work we will be in the streets celebrating our communities, and demanding the permanent protection, dignity and respect that our people deserve.”
Leaders of the Cosecha Movement are planning farmworker strikes and boycotts in rural communities, such as Homestead, Florida. Workers will also be striking in cities where Trump won with decisive margins, including Grand Rapids, Tulsa, Wichita, Memphis and many others.
