A total of six May Day marches have been approved for areas in and around Downtown, with at least one expected to cover new ground by starting in the Echo Park district to the northwest and proceeding east along Sunset Boulevard and then south to the city's center.
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officials say they anticipate tens of thousands of marchers for the various May 1 events, with the largest crowd expected to follow a traditional route, starting at approximately 12 noon at Olympic Boulevard and Broadway. That event is expected to include three sets of marchers and proceed north on Broadway to 1st Street before turning east to City Hall.
May Day is a traditional holiday for workers, although it has become a rallying point for immigrants' rights in recent years. Calls for reforms of the federal government's immigration policies are expected to remain a hallmark during the upcoming demonstrations.
The marchers from Echo Park are expected to begin at Park Avenue and Sunset Boulevard at 1:30 p.m. and head east to Alameda Street before turning south to Temple Street. They are expected to make a loop around the Roybal Federal Building as they proceed west on Temple, and then head north on Los Angeles Street, ending at the El Pueblo Historical Monument. LAPD officials said that members of the Echo Park contingent could later join with the marchers from Broadway for a rally at City Hall.
LAPD officials did not have final details on the various other marches for which permits have been issued, as of presstime. They said that one would likely take place at or near at MacArthur Park in the Westlake district west of Downtown. A May Day march at MacArthur Park in 2007 became notorious when LAPD officers attempted to disburse the crowd with a variety of tactics later determined to have been overly aggressive. The agency subsequently paid millions of dollars in legal settlements related to the actions, and revamped its policies and procedures on crowd control. Last year's May Day marches saw no serious disruptions.
The upcoming May Day marches will lead to street closures along their respective routes for much of the day, bringing temporary changes to bus service in the area. The marches will come amid a busy stretch for the Downtown area, taking place just prior to various Cinco de Mayor celebrations and less than a week after the April 26 edition of Fiesta Broadway, an annual event that drew hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city's center.
Sam Hassan is a writer for the L.A. Garment & Citizen.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
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