Copy of Workers Rights (1)

Roots of MayDay: Queer Community

Moving forward in the work of stewarding a more representative and equitable MayDay celebration, we tend to the root of Queer Community that has been intertwined throughout MayDay since it's inception and is now being brought to the surface to shine bright and take up space.

Being within Queer community means finding safe spaces to determine self-expression and identity within a collective. It can be affirming while challenging us to grow and dive deeper into ourselves in order to show up more fully. Puppetry enables us to explore alternative universes, new possibilities for our future, and honor the full spectrum of who we are, and who we can be.

As we celebrate the role and importance of Queer Community in MayDay, we remember: the first pride was a riot led by trans women of color in response to police raids happening in New York City.

As we imagine MayDay Season 2022, we see: MayDay as a protest, as political space, as an organizing hub. MayDay as a radical celebration of love expressed through action. Loving our lovers, our families, neighbors, community. Loving through protecting each other and our rights. Loving the natural world. Loving and tending to our ability to move through necessary change and growth as a collective.

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Image Description: A magenta rectangle appears with a photograph of Janet Mock, a Black trans woman, gazing to the side, wearing silver hoop earrings and a blue coat. A quote from Mock appears in white text which reads "I believe that telling our stories first to ourselves and to one another and the world is a revolutionary act."

At HOBT we have been asking “how do we live the spirit of MayDay year-round?” The image of the MayDay Celebration as a seed emerged: a tiny vessel full of power and potential waiting to burst forth.

We are tilling the soil, welcoming in pollinators, readying the compost, and planting the seed of MayDay with strong roots sprouting forth representing our deeply held values: green for Environmental Justice, red for the Labor Movement, purple for Queer Community and brown for BIPOC Leadership. These roots inspire and guide all HOBT programming as we work to embody the values of MayDay in every aspect of our organization.