An illustration of the Haymarket Affair. Photo courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
More than 60 countries will celebrate International Workers' Day — also known as May Day — on May 1. The holiday commemorates an 1886 strike that began when workers in Chicago gathered in favor of an eight-hour work day.
The strike led to the Haymarket Affair — a deadly conflict that erupted after a bomb was detonated and police fired at protesters in response, according to the Associated Press.
Several anarchists and labor organizers were imprisoned or executed for the bombing despite questionable evidence and a biased jury, according Northern Illinois University.
In an interview with The Northern Light, Dr. Ian Hartman, a history professor at UAA, said that despite the holiday’s American origins, it is not officially recognized in the U.S. due its association with anti-capitalist political perspectives.
He said this is one of the reasons the U.S. government officially recognizes Labor Day, which occurs in fall, instead of May Day.
Hartman said May Day has since become a day of protest for many other causes, including advocacy for marginalized groups and immigration rights.
May Day is celebrated around the world both officially and unofficially many years after the labor movement of that era and the Haymarket Affair.
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