May Day Solidarity Celebration

Friday, May 1, 2026 | 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Co-sponspored by Charlottesville DSA.

Gather at the downtown mall Freedom of Speech Wall (map), then march to Booker T. Washington Park (map).

NO WORK
NO SCHOOL
NO SHOPPING
YES to Protesting!

Join your neighbors and fellow activists for Charlottesville’s May Day Solidarity Celebration! We will meet at the Freedom of Speech Wall on the Downtown Mall (near Ting Pavilion) at noon, then march together to Booker T. Washington Park for an afternoon of solidarity and community building, featuring:

  • Music

  • Food

  • Kid-Friendly Activities

This is a national campaign — we are joining communities across the country in building our capacity to be STRIKE READY in case a general strike is needed — to defend human lives, to protect free and fair elections, and to grow a more inclusive democracy.

NO wars, NO ICE, May First, general strike!

Accessibility:

  • Booker T. Washington Park is located one mile from the Freedom of Speech Wall. The path is generally accessible via curbs and sidewalks. Please note that it is uphill and some areas may have uneven terrain.

Parking:

  • There is ample parking Downtown:

    • Market Street Parking Garage

    • Several street parking spots

  • There is parking near Washington Park:

    • Off 10th Street, just past the pool entrance (upper lot)

    • Off Preston Ave (lower lot)

    • Small amount of street parking 

Please DO NOT park in any commercial parking lots or the Albemarle County Office Building.

Other Resources & Ways to Get Involved

What is May Day?

May Day, observed on May 1st, is an International Day of Solidarity with the labor movement. Its roots trace back to the Haymarket Affair of 1886 in Chicago, where the working class organized a series of strikes and rallies to demand an eight-hour workday. Sadly, these actions were met with violent opposition, but ignited an incredibly powerful global movement for workers' rights and fair labor practices. For over a century, May Day has been a day to honor the struggles and achievements of working people, and to recommit to the fight for a more just and equitable world – a world for everyone, not just billionaires. It's a day to remember that rights are not given but instead, won through collective action.

Today, May Day remains powerfully relevant as wealth and power continue to concentrate in the hands of the few while our democratic institutions undergo unprecedented pressure tests. Economic injustices do not happen in a vacuum; they are systemic and rooted in systems that prioritize profit over people and thrive where accountability is lacking. We can see this manifest as harmful policies and rhetoric that disproportionately target working people and vulnerable communities, coupled with escalating exploitation, violence, and the erosion of our rights. The recent actions of Donald Trump and agencies like ICE, while egregious, are not isolated events, but the latest in a long history of oppression. May Day calls us to stand in solidarity, not only with our local and national communities, but with workers around the world, recognizing that the struggle for workers’ rights is the frontline in the fight against authoritarianism, and our collective power is our greatest weapon.

What is Strike Readiness?

The Strike Ready campaign is a national initiative aimed at building the capacity for collective action and preparing communities to respond to attacks on workers' rights, our democracy, and our communities. The Charlottesville area is actively building capacity to join a sustained national general strike to stop the authoritarian regime from stealing a third term. Our goal is to defeat the rise of fascism, and grow a better, more inclusive democracy that centers people over profits.

We recognize that the most powerful tool we have is our collective power — when we stand together, we can win! Across the world, strikes have been one of the most effective ways a population can nonviolently assert our rights and confront an autocratic government. We’ve won union contracts, civil rights protections, and the end of authoritarian regimes — by making the cost of ignoring us too high.

Being Strike Ready doesn't necessarily mean advocating for an immediate strike. It means fostering relationships, developing skills, building infrastructure for mutual aid, and ultimately being prepared to defend our democracy and protect our communities when the time comes.