On May 1, a number of LA-based organizations—including representatives from Mi Centro, the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s community site in Boyle Heights—gathered in Hollywood for the annual May Day rally and march in support of workers’ rights.
“Standing up for the communities Mi Centro serves is important,” says program manager Caín Andrade. “We’re in this fight together—unidos—with the communities we serve. Norma [Sánchez, program coordinator] and I want to stand and march in solidarity with them. These are our families, our allies, and many of them have been part of the fight way before we stepped into the picture.”
The march was organized by The May Day Coalition, which has been organizing workers in Los Angeles for May Day rallies for decades. The coalition is composed of dozens of labor unions, faith-based groups, and immigrant and human rights organizations representing families, workers, immigrants, people of faith, renters, women, homeowners, LGBTQ+ folks, and other diverse voices representing our communities.
We’re in this fight together—unidos—with the communities we serve.
Caín Andrade, program manager, Mi Centro
Some of the other organizations who participated in this year’s march included ReachLA, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Latino Equality Alliance, Human Rights Campatin LA, Somos Familia–Valle, ONE Archives, Gender Justice LA, and others.
“There’s an abundance of power in numbers,” says Andrade. “One organization can’t do it all, which is why Norma and I depend on the collective resources and allyship of the entire community.”
Andrade and Sánchez were joined at the march by Juan, Mi Centro’s newest intern. A student at East Los Angeles College, Juan was excited to make Wednesday’s May Day gathering his very first protest march.
“His family has only been in the country from Honduras for two years,” says Andrade. “He is absorbing so much of the culture and possibilities thanks to the opportunities that Mi Centro has been privileged to open up for him.”
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