Responding to shifts following September 11, 2001, Mayworks 2002 addressed emergent and continued struggles including imperialist violence abroad and, locally, communities being re-criminalized, becoming targets of police brutality, and increased racism and xenophobia.
At the same time, picket lines were being labeled as dangerous and criminal while the provincial government made it easier for union members to decertify.
Mayworks 2002 explored the impact of these events in our lives as workers, activists, union members and community. Audiences were invited to reflect on a new kind of resistance taking hold, one marked by a more militant unionism, a new wave of activism, and a resurgence of new politics “where we resolutely say isí se puede!” The 17th annual Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts offered stomping, clapping, jumping, dancing and singing as a means of putting culture into action.