Chants echoed through downtown Richmond on May Day as more than a thousand demonstrators marched down Franklin Street in support of workers’ rights and in protest of policies tied to the Trump administration.

The event, organized by the Virginia chapter of the 50501 Movement, began in Monroe Park and moved several blocks to the Virginia State Capitol. Volunteers helped direct traffic along the route. Similar May Day gatherings took place across the state, the nation and the globe.

“I thought it was outstanding,” said Johne Bandino, a New York native who came to Richmond 40 years ago and hadn’t protested since 1969, after the event’s end. “I’d like to see more people come out, this is really important stuff.”

From the opening rally at Monroe Park’s Checkers House to the closing gathering at Capitol Square, the power of unions and collective action remained a central theme. Marchers were greeted with live music from local rock band Dead Billionaires at the march’s end.

Speakers at the rally, including members of the House of Delegates, local radio personalities and other organizations, urged attendees to use their power as the working class to  challenge the wealthy and undo the damage they've done to the country and world.

“If you work for a living, if you sell your time, your labor, your body just to have the money to live day to day, you are the working class,” Virginia 50501 member Kienan Chung said. “Billionaires sit back and make money by having money, but we're the ones who provide the work that makes them rich. Without us, they are nothing!”

Tables set up in Monroe Park by groups such as Planned Parenthood and Indivisible Richmond provided further ways to take action, and many attendees left eager to share their experience.

 “I am definitely spreading the word,” said Bellevue resident Eleanor Stickley, who attended the rally and march alongside her friends, “and encouraging people to come and to join.”