May Day – 1947

by Howard Fast

 

Illustrations by Rockwell Kent, 1882-1971

United May Day Committee (Publisher)

This is a tale

. . . but not for all of you! Only for those of you who love life, and who would live it as free men. Not for all of you, but for those of you who hate injustice and wrong, who find no good in starvation, misery and homelessness. For those of you who remember when twelve million unemployed looked hollow-eyed into the future.

For those of you who have heard the whimper of a child in hunger, or a man in pain. For those of you who have heard the guns and listened for the smack of the torpedo. For those of you who saw the dead that fascism made. For those of you who made the sinews of war and were given, as payment, the nightmare threat of atomic death.

The Brief Origins of May Day

By Eric Chase

International Workers of the World

 

Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers’ Day of May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americans don’t realize that May Day has its origins here in this country and is as “American” as baseball and apple pie, and stemmed from the pre-Christian holiday of Beltane, a celebration of rebirth and fertility.

Cheers and chants resound as the proletariat’s day draws near

Granma | 29 April, 2016

Photo: Jorge Luis González

Massive, conscious participation is our goal this May Day, to reaffirm our unity and commitment, stated Luis Manuel Castanedo Smith, secretary general of the Federation of Cuban Workers (CTC) in Havana, during a plenary session of the trade union leadership, held yesterday, April 28.

May Day: Teachers leading the way

Granma | 26 April, 2016

This year May Day celebrations will be dedicated to historic leader Fidel Castro’s 90th birthday. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia

Over 40,000 teachers and students from pedagogical schools, accompanied by their families, will lead the May Day march to Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, according to Ismael Drullet Pérez, secretary general of the National Union of Education, Science and Sports Workers, speaking toGranma International,who commented on the achievements which have seen the sector awarded the honor of leading the mass procession.

The 11th May Day Solidarity Brigade (+Photos)

Granma | 28 April, 2016

Auduani Henry from Marseille, France, noted that he was looking forward to participating in the parade on May 1st, and witnessing support for the Revolution. He explained that in his own country, May Day sees protests to demand better conditions for workers. He spoke of his interest in the history of Cuba, and the example the island offers in visualizing the path to a better world. He said he hoped to talk to young people and exchange views about current affairs. Photo: Nuria Barbosa León Foto: Granma

More than 200 friends of Cuba from 34 countries make up the 11th May Day Solidarity Brigade, who have traveled to the island to express their support for the Cuban Revolution. The brigade’s activities extend from April 25 through May 8 and include participating in the massive May Day parade in Havana.

South Asia battered by extreme heat wave: 300 die in India and 21 in Thailand: Hottest month still ahead

A Journal of People report

Ongoing heat wave has so far taken 300 lives in India and 21 lives in Thailand as a roasting heat wave has been ripping through much of the South and South East Asia regions since early-April. The regions have been setting temperature records. Hundreds of people suffered severe heat strokes in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

El Niño in retreat

Granma | 27 April, 2016

Photo: http://www.nature.com

After reaching its peak intensity between December and January, and featuring among the strongest three periods of the past 60 years, alongside those of 1997-1998 and 1982-1983, the current El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) warm phase continued its gradual decline in March, as sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean declined.