In photos: Asheville May Day gathering celebrates workers

Posted on by Pat Barcas
Activists celebrate May Day, or International Workers' Day, May 1 at Vance Monument.

The modern International Workers Day, or May Day, was born out of the May 4, 1886, Haymarket massacre in Chicago.

Protesters gathered in Haymarket Square, striking for the eight-hour workday, when a bomb was tossed at police. It went off, and the police retaliated by shooting at the crowd, killing four civilians and seven other officers.

The resulting people found guilty for the crimes were called the Haymarket Martyrs, since they weren’t ever found to have fired the shots and have since become a symbol for worker solidarity and strength.

On May 1, activists rallied in Asheville to celebrate workers and their struggle.

 

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About Pat Barcas
Pat is a photojournalist and writer who moved to Asheville in 2014. He previously worked for a labor and social rights advocacy newspaper in Chicago. Email him at pbarcas@gmail.com. Follow me @pbarcas
View all posts by Pat Barcas →

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4 thoughts on “In photos: Asheville May Day gathering celebrates workers”

  2. N

    “Oh, look! There’s a place downtown we can get a vegan, gluten free, caramel mochaccino latte for $7.00! Let’s go there after the rally and continue our solidarity with the proletariat!”

    • Jim

      Pfft! 7 bux is for the lowlifes. We pay 10 just to show how much better we are.

      Mommy, did you pay off the balance on the card yet?

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