We celebrate International Working Women’s Day in honor of the uprising and labor strike of women factory workers in New York at the beginning of the 20th Century. Though commonly known as simply International Women’s Day, we must remember this history rooted in the intersection of labor justice and gender justice and honor the movement lead by immigrant working women.
In Oakland, a coalition of organizations including GABRIELA Oakland, International Women’s Alliance, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, VietUnity – East Bay, Xicano Moratorium, Cal-Nev Philippine Solidarity Task Force, Workers World Party, Anakbayan East Bay, and Marcha Patriótica Columbia, have come together to Rise to protect women, trans and gender non-conforming people, Resist economic exploitation, and Unite for self-determination. They are joined by over 40 other organizations co-sponsoring and endorsing a march and celebration planned in the Fruitvale on March 11th.
Design Action is supporting this effort through visual design and art making. We created a campaign graphic for downloading and sharing. And we organized an art making session where members of participating organizations came together to paint banners and signs after a political education session on current international social justice struggles lead by women, trans and gender non-conforming people around the world.
If you are in the Bay Area, please join us in Oakland on Sunday March 11th to celebrate International Working Women.