2015 O.C. May Day March set for May 1 at Sasscer Park in Santa Ana

The annual 2015 Santa Ana May Day march will take place on May 1, 2015, from 2 to 5 pm, at Sasscer Park, which is named after former SAPD police officer Nelson K. Sasscer, who was ambushed, shot and killed by a member of the Black Panthers way back in 1969.

Sasscer Park is located at Ross and 5th St., in Santa Ana.

The event is organized by the OC Mayday Coalition.

About May Day (from Wikipedia)

May Day on May 1 is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the celebrations that the day includes.

In the late 19th Century, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers’ Day, a holiday to celebrate workers, by the Socialists and Communists of the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago. In those countries that celebrate International Workers’ Day, the day may also be referred to as “May Day” but it is a different celebration from the traditional May Day.

International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day in some places, is a celebration of laborers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labor movement, anarchists, socialists, and communists and occurs every year on May Day, 1 May, an ancient European spring holiday. The date was chosen for International Workers’ Day by the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4 May 1886.

About the Orange County May Day Coalition

The Orange County May Day Coalition is a community-centered coalition of organizations and individuals; member organizations include:

Chic@nas Unidos, El Centro Cultural de México, OC DREAM Team, OC Peace Coalition, Occupy Santa Ana, SEIU-USWW, OCIWW, and Tonantzin Collective

In 2011, the Coalition worked tirelessly to win a more just impound policy in Santa Ana, California. The issue of unjust towing became a battleground when cities such as Maywood and Montebello seized cars in immigrant communities to raise cash. In Orange County, Santa Ana impounds more cars at state-funded drunk-driving checkpoints than any other police agency.

Currently, OCMDC is working on ending the collaboration between ICE and the SAPD and stop the detention and incarceration of our family and friends.

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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