Students, activists, union workers and other members of the community marched in solidarity Friday afternoon during the annual May Day rally in support of a variety of social justice issues.
Among the thousands of participants who marched through the streets from Echo Park to downtown Los Angeles were dozens of UCLA students representing organizations such as MeChA de UCLA and Improving Dreams Equality Access and Success.
For several of the students, May Day, a traditional day commemorating laborers around the world, was a way to show support for the DREAM Act, which would create a path to citizenship for undocumented college students.
“We’re here to show the support. … Sometimes these people are too afraid, especially with undocumented students, they’re too afraid to come out, and so somebody needs to be visible for them,” said Analee Villalpando, a fourth-year international development studies student.
After attending her first rally years ago, Villalpando said she slowly became more interested in social justice issues and decided to attend the rally after becoming involved in the Clean Car Wash campaign, where she is currently an intern. Car wash employees, she said, are often overlooked. For her, marching brought things that she had learned in the classroom into the real world.
“I really think that if you’re learning about it, you need to go out there and actually see what you’re fighting for,” she said.
For Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles and an organizer of the march who has participated in the event for the past 10 years, the event was a way to draw people of different ethnic backgrounds in support of social reform.
She added that she hoped the event would draw the attention of officials in Washington D.C. by making it clear that there is a large desire for social change.
“There’s a real sense of possibility with this march. They really want to make sure that the president understands that it’s so important, that he has to take action this year,” Salas said.
The event concluded with a demonstration where participants held up red and white boards to form the phrase “Workers First.” The demonstration was meant as a “postcard” to President Obama, according to a statement issued by organizers.