Images by Alex Garland for CHS

It has become a familiar refrain for Seattle’s mainstream media to hold up the city’s annual May Day labor and immigration rights march as a peaceful counterpoint to the violence and mayhem that accompanies the May Day night protests. We cover the 2016 edition of the annual contest pitting Seattle Police and its crowd management tactics vs. agitated protesters here.

The annual march organized by immigrant labor rights organization El Comité shouldn’t be reduced to a convenient editorial prop. The march’s organizers set out to make their voices heard and the groups involved choose their own path through the city. That’s why in 2016 we got more Marcha Y Manifestacion Anual del 1o de Mayo on Capitol Hill than ever.

“It was nice going through the neighborhood and seeing people come out,” El Comite’s Juan Jose Bocanegra tells CHS about a new section of the day’s procession that brought the crowd of more than 1,000 marchers up Broadway, then E Pike, over on 12th, and then down Pine headed for downtown Sunday afternoon.

Bocanegra tells CHS the new route around the Hill was driven by two factors.

First, “some of our members were interested in making a presence at the precinct,” Bocanegra said of the new route’s winding past East Precinct’s headquarters at 12th and Pine. Secondly, workers from UFCW 21 wanted the march to pass by the Broadway and Pike QFC as labor negotiations with the grocery giant continue.

The result was enthusiastic marchers, brightly feathered dancers, and another version of Seattle May Day for Capitol Hill to experience.