Photo: Compilation of IWWD celebrations, rallies, and newspaper distributions around the United States

By Jakob Stein

On March 8, revolutionaries and Incendiary Support Committees (ISCs) throughout the US commemorated International Working Women’s Day (IWWD) by distributing a special IWWD print issue, agitating for women’s emancipation, and holding cultural events aimed at organizing women to fight back against their oppressors.

In Austin, Texas revolutionary women led a procession honoring working women and victims of sexual abuse that was brutally repressed by the police, resulting in several dozen activists and community members being arrested. Incendiary encourages readers to donate for the legal costs and any potential loss of work income at the following link: https://fundrazr.com/51dKie

In Los Angeles, California, activists held an event outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center where attendees created signs and buttons with revolutionary slogans like, “Unleash the Fury of Women” and “Elections, No! Revolution Yes!” Several women gave speeches, representing organizations like the Committee to Support the Peoples Struggle in Brazil, the LA and San Diego ISCs, and the 28th St. Barrio Committee. As the speeches concluded, activists dropped a banner above the 101 freeway reading, “Women Hold Up Half the Sky!”

IWWD Rally in LA IWWD Rally in LA IWWD Rally in LA

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Serve the People rallied for IWWD in a public park in the Wilkinsburg area, a majority Black working-class suburb. Activists and community members gave speeches and held discussions on the issues affecting working-class women in the Wilkinsburg area, including sex-trafficking, domestic violence, poor housing conditions, low wages, and the high cost of childcare. Those present reaffirmed the role of working-class women as leaders and integral participants in both past and present revolutionary movements. One attendee noted, “[We don’t need] some magical politician. It is those everyday people who are impacted by these systems of oppression – those single mothers, those students, those people on minimum wage – who can actually make change!”

In Houston, Texas, Incendiary along with other activists held a cultural event where attendees created a banner reading, “Women Hold Up Half the Sky” and honored women revolutionaries. Speeches were given on the history of IWWD and its celebration during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China and the ongoing People’s War in Peru, as well as the organizing carried out by the Popular Women’s Movement in Austin and the general necessity of mobilizing women for revolutionary struggles.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, activists held an event to commemorate IWWD. Presenters from Serve the People, CSPS-B, and a local supporter of the revolutionary movement gave speeches on the history of the women’s movement and the need to organize women fight back against abusers within the city, especially in political movements.

ISCs in Oxnard, California, Kansas City, Missouri, and Orlando, Florida distributed a special Incendiary print edition focused on women’s struggles on bus lines and agitated for women’s emancipation among the masses. In Michiana activists distributed literature on a local anti-woman, ‘pro-life’ politician US Representative Jackie Walorski, as well as Incendiary articles on IWWD in small towns and cities like Nappanee, Warsaw, and Bourbon, Indiana.

Incendiary in Oxnard Incendiary in Orlando Graffiti seen in the MIchiana region

Around the US, people are taking up the call to organize working-class women as a force for revolution, and the expansion of IWWD celebrations and events demonstrates the growing strength of the proletarian women’s movement.