A South Florida comrade wrote this about the "A" Bloc:

I had an amazing time at the rally; it felt really uplifting and inspiring to be part of such a unified anarchist contingent, and generally speaking, a burgeoning civil rights movement, on such an historic day, the first significant anniversary of May Day demonstrations in the U.S. since the decline of the old labor movement in the 1940s. Our banners, flags, FNB free burrito and juice carts, literature, chants, and drumming all made a powerful statement: that anarchist activity is alive and well, even here in Central and Southern Florida, and also that anarchists *do* have the capability and the will to actively engage ourselves in these broad movements, not as masked "outsiders" - which unfortunately is the common misperception - but as allies in solidarity with the struggles of all the oppressed and dispossessed of this world for a more equal and free society. "Si Se Puede", by far the most commonly heard chant during the march, has become the perfect symbol of this growing movement, uniting immigrant rights with labor struggles with anti-fascism with...

I want to express my appreciation for the comrades in Orlando Direct Action and Orlando FNB that helped to mobilize for this, fed hundreds of people, coordinated logistics, etc. and for all the Miami comrades that came up as well! I'm looking forward to continue working with you all in the future. In union there is strength.

Ni Fronteras, Ni Banderas!

Happy May Day in Orlando 2006

We had several black flags. i'm not entirely sure why black is such a universal anarchist color. Certainly it predates the association of the anarchist movement with punk. i think it has something to do with the negation of all existing hierarchical Statist and capitalist institutions, or maybe it means "no quarter given" (which is something i believe black has traditionally stood for) and is a reference to anarchy's uncompromising (hopefully) stance against the State and capitalism and in favor of building a new society based upon such principles as liberty, equality and mutual aid.

We had at least a dozen drummers in the bloc.

This banner has a very important message about the need of people to extend support and mutual aid to each other across borders and to unite against their common oppressors rather than allowing ourselves to be divided by such factors as ethnicity, language and nationality.

May Day, the international workers holiday, was a perfect day for a march for immigrant rights. The first May Day in 1886 was called as part of the worker struggle for the 8-hour day. Many immigrant workers in the U.S. participated in that struggle, and today immigrant workers in the U.S. still struggle for social equality, higher wages, better working conditions and respect for their hard work and contribution to our social wealth. Of course May Day is about more than mere reforms, although those are important since they represent material improvements in the lives of workers; most fundamentally it's about the liberation of workers from the exploitation of capitalism and its replacement with a cooperative economy geared toward human needs, not profits.

Food Not Bombs members stayed up until 9 a.m. May Day morning rolling 400 vegan burritos (tortillas, rice, beans, fried, seasoned tofu, sauteed onions and bell peppers, and tomatoes). Most of the ingredients had been dumpstered by Orlando Food Not Bombs; this was perfectly good food that had been thrown away; another example of the waste of the capitalist system. The 400 burritos were gone within minutes of the arrival of the "A" Bloc. FNB also shared bagels and bread.

Orlando Food Not Bombs went through several dozen half-gallon containers of juice (orange and other fruits) that had been dumpstered. The juice was very popular with the thirsty, hot marchers during the rally (as can be seen in the photo below).

The people in the reddish-orange shirts were all members of the same group, but i don't know its name.

A fair number of American flags were visible at the march and rally. People shouldn't have to prove how American and patriotic they are in order to obtain human rights.

The photos below of the "A" Bloc (two of which were taken as the "A" Bloc marched) and the other march participants were borrowed from a comrade who posted them on her blog.

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