Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt
The celebration of May Day as International Workers’ Day extends back to the 1880s when hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike across the U.S. to demand the eight-hour day. Despite considerable opposition, workers came together on this day across the lines of language, race, gender, religion, and ethnicity to build solidarity and share their visions for a more humane world. Workers in other parts of the world joined the celebration to denounce the exploitations of capitalism, nationalism, racism, and colonialism, and May Day became an important holiday.
May Day celebrations have included rallies, parades, picnics, music, dance, political speeches, poetry, theatrical performances, and altars for the Spring season. These celebrations have provided a space for creativity and connection with the natural world, as they are often held outside. They are a place to share knowledge and culture, meet others passionate about labor solidarity and social justice, and build a world of our dreams.
We return to this tradition to honor the wisdom of these ancestors who have much to teach us about how to change the world. Through the practices of performance, art, music, movement, and herbalism, we root in the visions for healing and emancipation held by working-class Puerto Rican, Mexican, Black, Indigenous, and Italian migrant working-class women from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
How might connecting with these ancestors, their knowledge and traditions help us today?
What seeds do we want to plant for future generations?
This event is free and open to the public. Please register here.
Co-sponsored by the Smith College Project on Women and Social Change, Arts Afield @CEEDS (the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design & Sustainability at Smith College), Jandon Center for Community Engagement, Wurtele Center for Leadership, History Department, Italian Department, Program for the Study of Women, Gender & Sexuality.
Special thanks to Emma Chubb, Matt Cummings, Joanne Benkley, Deirdre Quirk, Erin Cohn, Megan Lyster, Denys Candy, Nancy Zigler, Lyndsay Lettre, Abril Navarro, Michelle Joffroy, Lisa Armstrong, Lisa Hunter, Michele Monserrati, Paul Wetzel, ej seibert, Camille Washington-Ottombre, and Andrew Fletcher. Thanks to Alison Wood, Graphic Designer, for the poster design.
This celebration is dedicated to Melchia Crowne (1945-2024), wisewoman counselor & healer
