May Day: Occupy Movement Heads Back to the Streets

'With our collective power we are beginning to build the world we want to see.'

"No Work – No School – No Housework – No Shopping." So goes the call for today's general strike by occupy activists, social justice groups, and advocates for a more equitable and fair economy. Spearheaded by the original Occupy Wall Street group in New York City and taken up by hundreds of affiliated activists – including labor, student, and housing groups  across the nation, the day will mark the largest push so far this year to bring large numbers of people back into the street to rally against the devastating impacts of an economy based on greed and a democracy ruled by corporate dollars.

"We celebrate a holiday for the 99%," reads the announcement released by Occupy Wall Street in New York along with a schedule of events. "Today, we come together across lines of race, class, gender, and religion to challenge the systems that create these divisions. New Yorkers join with millions throughout the world — workers, students, immigrants, professionals, houseworkers. We take to the streets to join in a General Strike against a system which does not work for us. With our collective power we are beginning to build the world we want to see. Another world is possible!"
May 1st -- also known as International Workers Day or simply 'May Day' -- has a long history as a day of action for international labor and has been used more recently by immigration rights activists in the United States to herald their cause. Though some have framed the day as a "make or break" day for the Occupy movement, others are quick to point out that one day cannot -- and should not -- be the measure of a movement.

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