The new approach allowed the region’s active social justice movements to continue the May Day tradition of celebrating workers’ rights while complying with physical distance guidelines put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Organizers encouraged people to stay in or on their vehicles, wear masks or face coverings and use hand sanitizer that protest planners provided.
Protesters in Oakland called for protective equipment for essential workers, free health care, equitable education, the withholding of rent and mortgage payments and the release of prisoners at risk of being infected by coronavirus.