May Day, Haymarket Riot Memorial, Chicago

We had a May Day rally here, down the street from me, at the Haymarket Memorial.

and

At first, thought there was some summer festival starting early, but once the speechifying began, I figured out what the cause was.

{Photos, Chicago}

From the Trib:

“Workers of the world speak with one voice,” Colombian union activist Johnny Meneses said in Spanish, his voice breaking at times with emotion, as a plaque was unveiled marking the struggles and deaths of union members in his native country.

“Everyday is a first of May in Colombia,” Meneses said Sunday at the memorial to the Haymarket Square Riot on Desplaines Street near Randolph Street on the Near West Side. “You have one monument. But in Colombia, we would need many more than that.”

The small plaque with Spanish text was added to the back of the memorial. The sign and the presence of Colombian union activists fit perfectly with the goal of the rally held by dozens of union members and supporters at the historic site.

Technorati Tags: Chicago, Current Affairs, Photos