INTERNATIONAL WORKERS' DAY AND THE HAYMARKET AFFAIR
May 1st is International Workers Day and has been a day commemorating and celebrating the working class going back to the late 19th century. But do you know why May 1st was chosen?
Originally May 1st was the site of a Spring festival in Europe. May 1st was chosen to celebrate workers because of an event known in history as "The Haymarket Affair" or "Haymarket Riot" named after Haymarket Square in Chicago, USA.
Briefly, in 1886 in Chicago from May 1st to May 4th strikes, marches and protests were being organised to campaign for an 8 hour working day. Police were responding to these demonstrations with violence and some strikers were killed with many others injured. At a demonstration organised for Haymarket Square on May 4th 1886 someone (and to this day no one knows who) threw a bomb at police who were advancing to disperse the demonstration. The police responded by firing randomly into the crowd, causing more deaths and injuries.
As a result, 8 anarchists and labour organisers were arrested and charged, on zero evidence, with conspiracy to make and throw the bomb. Only two of the men were even at Haymarket at the time. The trial was a show trial based on a red scare and all the newspapers (owned by big businessmen than as now) blamed the workers' rights movement for the violence, categorising the whole movement as a violent one in malicious anti-worker rhetoric. This largely stained the movement for many years to come. Seven of the accused were condemned to death whilst one got 15 years in prison. Four of the men eventually hanged, one committed suicide in jail. In no case had their guilt been shown.
The May 1st date was chosen to celebrate workers in commemoration of these brave, innocent souls.
#IWD #internationalworkersday #politics #labour #capitalism #fascism #anarchy #IWD2025
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