Above, Nancy Brennan, an organizer with the Kent Street Coalition, poses as the Statue of Liberty during the International Workers’ Day demonstration at the State House. ZACH LAIRD photo
By ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — More than 100 people rang in International Workers’ Day with demonstrations at the State House and across New Hampshire on Friday, joining a national movement to uplift immigrant workers throughout the United States.
The gatherings were held in conjunction with a May Day Strong campaign made up of hundreds of local advocacy groups and community organizations. The participants’ demands are to tax the rich, no Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and no war, and to “expand democracy, not corporate power. Hands off our votes.”
In a press release, the 50501 Movement explained that the May Day Strong coalition is taking the people-powered movement with plans for rallies, marches, civic education, and walkouts across the country. 50501 Movement is a non-violent, grassroots movement that organizes mass protests and mutual aid to defend democracy against fascism.
Brittni Widdick, original co-founder and vice-chair of NH 50501 (a grassroots group dedicated to empowering New Hampshire residents by staying informed about federal and local legislation) explained the group is working alongside other advocacy organizations to help spread awareness. These include the Kent Street Coalition, American Friends Service Committee, Southern NH Indivisible, and Third Act New Hampshire.
Similar demonstrations were held in communities such as Berlin, Claremont, Derry, Durham, Francestown, Hanover, Keene, Manchester, Plymouth, and Portsmouth. Around the country, there were also rallies in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Minneapolis, Los Angeles.
“There’s a lot of immigration-focused groups that want to bring attention to immigrant labor, and things like that. Rather than trying to do something against their events, we started working with a coalition of people to figure out how we could work together to make something like this happen,” Widdick said.
Widdick continued that she hopes the event gives people strength to get through a rough time. She said each time events like these are held, people come out and feel like they’re not alone, and hopes they see where they can get involved to help make a difference.
Divine Nkwelle, program coordinator for American Friends Service Committee’s New Hampshire program, recalled how as an international student from Cameroon, he gratefully served meaningful roles in jobs like healthcare, customer service, and the UPS store.
“However, these also exist within a system in which our ability to work, earn, and even speak up is often shaped by our immigration status… These are the quiet realities that many workers and international students like myself face, the need to balance ambition and caution,” he said.
Nkwelle continued, saying despite the constraints immigrant workers face, they remain part of the workforce that sustains things like universities, research institutions, agriculture, and hospitality.
“Today, in a time when conversations around immigration have become often polarized and politicized, it is important to return to a simple truth. The truth that behind every policy is people: people working, people contributing, and people striving for stability and respect… If we are to truly honor the meaning of this day, we must broaden our understanding of who a worker is,” Nkwelle said.
Hazel Armstrong-McEvoy, spokesperson for New Hampshire Peace Action — which educates, mobilizes, and organizes, to build a more peaceful and just future for all — recalled how the holiday has radical roots, which she said is sometimes forgotten nowadays.
“It was hundreds of thousands of workers who were protesting for just wanting the eight-hour workday… We’re here to remind people of the radical roots of May Day in general, how peace and nonviolence and labor movements coincide together, and are extremely intertwined, especially right now in our political climate,” Armstrong-McEvoy said.
Attendee Tracy Nabstedt of Concord said the country is at a place and time where “Donald Trump and his Republican toadies have decided that they know better than the American people about where we should be going in this country.”
“That’s a terrible mistake. We’ve seen it in Hungary; we’ve seen it in the Soviet Union and Russia… We see it all over the world, and we really can’t afford to go down that road here in this country. We have got 250 years of progress, this is no time to backslide,” he said.
According to the American Immigration Council, immigrants in the state pay over $1 billion in total taxes annually, based on data from 2022. As of 2024, there are about 83,185 documented immigrants that were born in foreign nations, per migrationpolicy.org
The holiday originated from a movement that called for better working conditions and more recognition for workers’ contributions in the late 19th century, according to an article from the University of California, Los Angeles. The article explained that in 1884, workers throughout the country went on strike and a national federation of unions announced a campaign to “establish an eight-hour workday by May 1, 1886.”