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Feature: Chicago holds May Day march amid national anti-police protest

Xinhua, May 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Waving black and red flags, and wearing a half black and half red mask on her face, a white girl named Lily marched with several hundred people Friday afternoon starting from Union Park of Chicago, shouting: "This is what democracy looks like."

Lily is from an organization called Feminist Uprising Resisting Inequality and Exploitation (FURIE).

"Today I am here not only for celebrating May Day, I came for justice." she told Xinhua. Then she shouted with others slogans: "Don't shoot," "No justice, no peace!" and "No racist killer police!"

The march was jointly organized by the Industrial Workers of the World-Chicago General Membership Branch, FURIE, American Party of Labor and Chicago Socialist Party, among other organizations.

According to the official website of "Chicago May Day 2015 Radical Coalition", the march not only focused on labor issues this year, but also on immigrant rights, anti-capitalism and police brutality.

Promoted by the international labor movement and celebrated every year on May 1, May day, also known as Labor Day or International Workers' Day, is a public holiday of laborers and the working class in about 90 countries all over the world.

The date was chosen by the Second International in July 1889 to commemorate the Haymarket affair which occurred in Chicago on May 4, 1886.

But although Chicago is the birthplace of Labor Day, Americans don't have May Day as their Labor Day because of politics, according to a protester whose first name is Michael.

"In 1886, police killed more than 200 protesters on May 1. The government didn't want to mention the history,so they just changed it to September," Michael said.

"The reality today is just the same, as you know. The police still kill black people casually, especially people from the working class, let alone those without a job," Michael said.

"I came for this event because Chicago is the original place of Labor Day. It is vital for all workers to stand on the side of the world's most oppressed, for me. I think we can do better to improve the justice all over America through this march," a New York man who gave his name as Eric told Xinhua. Endi