The Best Signs and Art of This Year’s Massive May Day Protests

Mayday! Mayday!

From coast to coast, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded streets across the United States to commemorate May Day, also known as International Workers Day, annually observed on the first of the month around the world. This year’s labor rallies, which follow last month’s Hands Off! demonstrations, were heavily focused on immigration, healthcare, trans rights, federal workers, education, and the US-backed Israeli bombardment of Gaza, in a nationwide show of art-filled resistance against the second Trump administration.

In New York City, protesters congregated in Manhattan’s Union Square and Foley Square for rallies organized by The People’s Forum and the American Civil Liberties Union, respectively. The demonstrations called attention first and foremost to workers’ rights, especially with the backdrop of mass layoffs at cultural institutions across the country. But they were also filled to the brim with homemade signs, colorful banners, and elaborate costumes that rebuked Trump’s highly scrutinized expansion of power.

From sharp criticism of mass deportations to hilarious roasts of the president and his billionaire senior advisor, below are some highlights from yesterday’s protests captured by Hyperallergic.

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