Occupy Wall Street activists are preparing for a nationwide series of demonstrations and are calling for a "general strike" on Tuesday, May 1st--also known as "May Day" or "International Workers' Day"--and Occupy Denver has just released its own schedule of events for the day of protest in Denver. The demonstrations could wind up being the largest seen from the OWS activists in 2012.
Beginning at 12:00 p.m. and continuing on through 9:30 p.m., the Denver occupiers have rolling teach-ins, rallies, marches, live music, performance art, spoken word poetry and much more throughout the day at Civic Center Park.
Scroll down for the schedule of events at time of publishing. See the full schedule and detailed description of events here at OccupyDenver.org.
In a press statement, Occupy Denver said this about the importance of May Day:
Now is the time for community, neighborhood, school and work groups to organize autonomous and direct actions. As long as we are attacked and deprived of our basic rights, we will not allow for business as usual. We will support independent efforts of people to claim control over their workplaces, schools, and community as the beginning stages of our journey towards reclaiming our lives and taking the power back.
May Day will be the beginning of a new chapter of struggle for justice and equality. As we occupy our streets, workplaces, neighborhoods, and other common spaces, we start to build a new world within the shell of this old world of injustice and inequality. Let May 1st be the beginning of a new chapter that has yet to be written.
Occupy Denver is joined by the Denver-Boulder branch of the International Workers of of the World (IWW) in this call for a general labor strike. The IWW has released its own statement on the May 1st strike call:
As the recession has deepened, wealth and power have been funneled into the hands of the few. We can no longer afford the rich and powerful or tolerate this system that creates them at our expense. Police, militaries, immigration enforcement, and corporate banks have attacked our communities and movements. We can no longer survive without control over our lives and our society. We will not be silenced. The time has come to show those in power that our demands for equality and justice must be met.
May Day is a national holiday in many countries around the world and is typically celebrated with marches and street demonstrations by working people, according to Mother Jones, but has not been as widely observed in the United States.
Occupy organizers are hoping that May Day could be a reboot for the movement. Marissa Holmes, an Occupy Wall Street organizer, spoke with Mother Jones saying, "May Day will be the big kickoff of Phase 2 of Occupy. I think we'll see a lot of people in the streets taking more militant actions than they had in the past."
May Day Denver: Occupy Denver Schedule Of Events:
Main Stage:
12:00 -- Rally
12:30 -- March leaves Civic Center
12:45 -- Spoken Word Poets of Denver
1:15-- Musical Performance (Cottonwood)
1:35-- David Hughes (poet) / Spoken Word Poets of Denver
1:45 -- Featured Speaker
2:00 -- Teach-In Introductions
2:15-- Wheelchair Sports Camp (musicians)
2:45 -- Just James (poet)
3:00 -- Dehlia (poet)
3:15-- Performance Art
3:30-- Teach-in Introductions
3:45-- Musical Performance (Live Animal)
4:45-- Siddique Abdullah Hasan (political prisoner)
5:15-- Performance Art
5:30-- Labor Panel Discussion
6:15-- Music and Food
6:30-- Lenny Chernila (poet)
7:00-- Occupy Panel and Open Forum
8:00-- Sole (musician)
9:30-- Sleep-In on 16th Street Mall to Protest “Urban Camping” BanOffstage
12:00 -- Rally
12:45 -- March
1:15 -- March
1:35 -- March arrives back at Civic Center
2:15 -- Teach-Ins: "We Can End Corporate Education Reform"
2:15 -- Teach-Ins: "Reclaiming our Responsibilities as Earth Warriors"
2:15 -- Teach-Ins: "Labor and Neoliberalism: The Struggle Today"
3:45 -- Teach-Ins: "Defend Our Homes: Protect Our Communities"
3:45 -- Teach-Ins: "Create Your Own Alternative Money: Don't Rely On Banks"
3:45 -- Unionizing In Traditionally Unorganized/Non-Union Occupations"
5:15 -- Gift and Barter Market
The May Day general strike in Denver has the endorsement of more than a dozen organizations in Denver and Colorado including The Denver Handmade Homemade Market, Colorado Progressive Coalition, Clean Slate Now, CPUSA, Colorado Anti-Violence and more. Denver's Mercury Cafe will be closing its doors in support and celebration of the general strike on May 1st.
Organizations that are interested in participating in May Day and want to support the event in some way are encouraged to fill out a "Statement of Support" which can be obtained here via OccupyDenver.org.
For more information on Occupy Denver's May Day plans, visit their website or Facebook page.
Will you be participating in May Day on Tuesday? Let us know your thoughts, plans in the comments below.
LOOK: Poster for Occupy Denver's May Day March
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