“Friends, we are all here today because of this nation’s moral crisis,” the Rev. Leah Eubanks told the crowd of about 60 that gathered at Paducah’s Noble Park for the city’s May Day rally.
“The law is being used for exploitation rather than justice,” said the Paducah resident who is pastor at First Christian Church of Dawson Springs.
The “May Day Strong” rally in far western Kentucky’s largest town was one of about 600 cities and towns nationwide that witnessed marches and protests that coincided with International Workers Day, or Labor Day, which is observed every May 1 in more than 160 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. (The U.S. and Canada observe Labor Day in September.)
Four Rivers Indivisible, a local branch of the national Indivisible organization, sponsored the rally. In addition to listening to speeches and traditional union songs, protestors gathered on the park sidewalk that was decorated with small American flags. Everybody held up signs and waved at motorists.
Many passersby honked horns and flashed thumbs up signs to show their approval.
Karla Johnston of Murray, a Four Rivers co-leader, welcomed the crowd, explaining “today, we join millions who recognize that the culture war that those at the top of the heap have been relentlessly pushing onto us is but cover for the class war that has been waged on us.”
Ray and Jan Schorr, Mayfield retirees, held red, white and blue signs that said “ELECTIONS BELONG TO THE PEOPLE.” Rae Laster of Paducah fired up the crowd with a bullhorn in one hand and a “WORKERS OVER BILLIONAIRES” sign in the other.
A Paducah woman who only gave her name as “Cat,” short for Catherine, showed up in a black inflatable unicorn suit. She also waved a “WORKERS OVER BILLIONAIRES” sign.
Union workers and retirees helped swell the crowd. They included Wickliffe United Steelworkers Local 680 retiree Doug Warren; Benny Heady, who worked out of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 184 in Paducah; and Jerry Sykes, who belonged to United Auto Workers locals in the Detroit area.
(from upper left) Ray and Jan Schurr; Rae Lester; Karla Johnston; Rev. Leah Eubanks; Jerry Sykes; Cat the Unicorn; Amanda Grovers (all photos by Berry Craig)
Sykes, 85, from Marshall County, also spoke at the rally. He cited the building of the Statue of Liberty in New York City in 1886 and commemorated “all of those immigrants who came over from their country with a suitcase full of dreams. … We will not be told by the elite people in this country – especially today, when the administration that we have is doing everything it can possibly do to break down everything that we have built up … and take it away. And no way am I going to give that up. I’ll be here, I’ll be there — I’ll be anywhere where we have to voice our opinions and stand up and fight back.”
Amanda Groves, an ordained Disciples of Christ minister from Marshall County and a substitute teacher, said public school teachers are underpaid and their schools underfunded. “My friends, I want you to say this, ‘I have a voice!” she urged the crowd, which replied by chanting her words.
“We must vote,” she added. “I’m not telling you who to vote for. I’m telling you to do your homework and I’m telling you to vote for people who care about you.”
In her speech, Eubanks called on the crowd to shout “May Day,” because “this is a crisis of morality in the halls where justice should prevail.”
She said, “Today, we stand in the gap between the law and morality because it’s time we stand for something bigger than the unjust laws of man. It’s time we stand with the workers, the hired hands, and the poor. It’s time we stand for the working class over billionaires. … We demand union rights for those who labor and serve for the common good. We will not work for corporate influence or fund corporations for the benefit of the wealthy few. ...
“We demand funding for civil services and the institutions that support the common good – support for public education, environmental protection, and honest government jobs that support community wellbeing.”
She denounced “war and U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts” and demanded that “Congress take back its power to declare war to restore ‘collective judgment’ and calm hostilities.”
Eubanks concluded with a warning to President Trump: “… For now, you may dine in ivory towers and grand ballrooms, but we know that God doesn’t reside in your ivory towers. Our God stands with the homeless, with the immigrant, with the outcast, and with the workers who long for the common good.
“You may paint pictures of yourself as a god, but we are not fooled by your idolatry. Our God stands for right above might. Our God stands for justice for the poor and hope for the oppressed.
“And in this moment, we will not surrender to cynicism. We will not sacrifice integrity, goodness, and righteousness. We will boldly walk with the courage to hope and dream of wholeness for all God’s people [including] the left out and the rejected.”
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