By IMCista

One reader writes in the comments, describing the large march down Broadway from Union Square to Foley Square: "Hundreds of thousands of people from different countries with their entire families. Very proud and courageous crowd to show up in that kind of mass with all the threats coming from the government. t was one of the most anarchistic marches I've ever seen although very few people in the crowd would identify as anarchists. But it seemed to be about the dignity of all people and especially the people who work to keep the city functioning while the elite who benefit from their labor threaten and condemn them as criminals. Also a vision of a world without borders."

A Las Barricadas writes: "I have been in Union Square Park on May Day for the past five years. In 2003 only two people were celebrating May Day in Union Square Park - me and an old-timer who like me had come to celebrate May Day and was looking for other revelers ... This year I would not have trouble finding fellow workers celebrating May Day in Union Square Park. I had trouble getting *near* Union Square Park." Burningman describes the scene: "From what I saw, the immigration rallies defined the events in New York... and from what I heard across the USA. I marched with the Red Flag contingent, organized by revolutionary communists -- and very well received all and all throughout the day. It was a necessary intervention on International Workers Day with so much liberal pandering about this being "our country too."

The day ended on a discordant note for at least a few of the protesters and their allies. Writes Lauren: "We got onto the entrance ramp to the bridge and were just about on the bridge when Chief Smolka came running. He and his cronies forced everyone back off the bridge. We then gathered at the foot of the bridge on the sidewalk. There were a couple of hundred people there. The police kept moving closer to us, telling us we had to leave. We refused. The cops then started pushing. We pushed back. A cop then punched a girl, she went down and that started a huge fight between the cops and the people."

In Washington Heights, a "human chain," promoted by some liberal activists as an alternative to the boycott, turned into "a rally that took the streets for close to an hour and largely ignored the orders from the police to stay on the sidewalk."

Photo 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 Shuttered Stores

DMI Blog: Turning May 1 Towards Political Action || What's Next?

Newsday reports that an attendance drop of 7% in NYC schools can be attributed to the protest and walk-outs.

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