On May 1, International Workers Day, organizers, union members, trade-workers and their families, undocumented workers and advocates, and many more took to the streets of Seattle to stand up and speak out for workers’ rights. Thousands of workers came out in solidarity, emphasizing the need to stand together as a united class against the wealthy elite-led class war.
Many workers, many of them immigrants, as well as members of unions and community organizations, gathered in Judkins Park in Seattle’s Central District, a historically Black neighborhood currently being gentrified by developers and cannabis shops. The rally and march to follow was organized by El Comité Pro-Reforma Migratoria Y Justicia Social. Workers spoke of their experiences and struggles of being undocumented and the fears they have of being deported by racist and predatory police which would leave their children stranded in the U.S. without parents. One attendee shared with Liberation she was tired of being underpaid and working egregiously long hours purely because she is an undocumented Latina.
The rally was followed with a march led by Aztec dancers. Militant undocumented youth chanted, “What do we want? Justice? When do we want it? Now! If 
we don’t get it, shut it down!” The march went from Judkins Park to Broadway in Capitol Hill to East Pike and 12th to the East police precinct, and down Pine to the Federal District Courthouse for a rally.
From there organizers were able to walk to Westlake center where a Solidarity Music Festival event had been planned by various anarchist groups. This was followed by the Anti-capitalist March which garnered much of the mainstream media coverage of the day.
The Anti-capitalist March
Kicking off at 6:45 PM, the Anti-Capitalist march attempted to head east from Westlake center but was blocked by Seattle police in full military gear. The police refused to allow the marchers go where they wanted and after a while the crowed rerouted and headed north towards Belltown. A few windows were broken. As the crowd reached Belltown the police prematurely tried to sever the crowd into two groups but failed, resulting in the crowd of several hundred people regrouping and turning around only to head south to the financial district. As the anti-capitalist marchers made more and more headway the police grew increasingly agitated and volatile, spraying reporters and any persons within reach with mace.
Once the crowd reached the financial district Seattle police went berserk on the demonstrators, shoving with full force their police-issued bikes onto innocent bodies and tossing flash grenades into full crowds of people. The use of flash grenades at last year’s anti-capitalist march garnered much condemnation. Liberation saw people sustain injuries from the use of these weapons and a man, whose first name is Mike, had a flash grenade detonate on his face, covering him in blood. As a result of this injury he later 
required surgery.
Seattle police continued to barrage demonstrators with mace, flash grenades, and tear gas. Police in full riot gear created a military battle scene (click to see original video). This was a transparent demonstration of what police do; they protect private property and the interests of the state while abusing and assaulting anyone who challenges them. Eventually the police succeeded in their efforts to push the demonstrators out of the city and into the Industrial District where people mostly dissipated. The police, as part of the state apparatus, are ready to combat those who mobilize against the system and the violence of its state. We can only defeat the violent centralism of the capitalist state by joining together in unified, organized struggle.
