CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — In commemoration of May Day, also known as International Workers Day, hundreds marched on Friday from the Freedom of Speech Wall in front of City Hall through the Downtown Mall, gathering together at Booker T. Washington Park.

The event was organized by Indivisible Charlottesville and Charlottesville DSA, the local chapter of the Democrat Socialists of America. The event was just one of 4,000 other “May Day Strong” events and actions hosted nationwide.

Local organizers, who hoped this event would help lay the groundwork for a potential general strike in the future, were pleased with the turnout.

“This is our first attempt at a general strike, participating with the national general strike,” Indivisible volunteer and DSA member Catherine Muller told Cville Right Now. “But I’m really impressed with our people power today.

Muller specifically highlighted how the event pulled together people from different age groups and sectors of the community, as well as different like-minded organizations, many of whom set up tables at Booker T. Washington Park.

“I feel like this has pulled together a lot of people that previously didn’t know each other,” Muller said. “The more we do that, the stronger we’ll get.”

One of those organizations that set up a table was Keep Going Together, a local organization that works closely with Indivisible. Susan McCulley, a member of Keep Going Together’s leadership team, told Cville Right Now it was “inspiring” to see the street filled with marchers.

At their table, the organization had a community art project — a banner that read “Imagine the world we create together.”

“We’re asking people to contribute to it,” she said. “To think about not just what we’re up against, but what we’re for, what we want to build even beyond what we had before.”

From the beginning to the very end of the event, including all throughout the march, participants sang and chanted. With so many marchers, their presence was felt.

“It was incredible,” Indivisible volunteer and marcher Dominique Tobbell told Cville Right Now. “I was actually impressed that we succeeded in shutting down Preston Avenue. I shouldn’t have had any doubts, but it was really powerful.”

At the front of the march was Anna N., a member of Cville DSA as well as their union, SEIU Workers United. As part of the event, the organizers called for a day of no work, no school and no shopping.

“It’s a huge ask to not go to work, not go to school, not shop,” they said. “But the thing is we’re up against the most powerful [Presidential] administration we’ve ever been up against, and those people have everything at their discretion. And so, we need to make difficult decisions about ourselves in order to protect our community.”

The singing and chanting continued at Booker T. Washington Park, with a number of speakers in between. Among them was longtime local activist and first-year school board member Zyahna Bryant. While she now holds local office, she told Cville Right Now grassroots organizing is still her “heart.” She said she loves the work Indivisible and Cville DSA are doing in organizing the community.

“This feels like a big hug, right?” she said. “When you’re in space with people in your community, it’s so energizing and it keeps you going. And so, as we approach these very tough conversations and hard work, it’s these moments like this that charge our battery and keep us moving and being purposeful in the work that we’re trying to do.”

Organizers had hoped the event would help bring the community further together, and by all accounts it succeeded. The hope now is that work will continue.

Javier Raudales, Executive Director of Sin Barreras, a local nonprofit aimed at empowering immigrants and their families, told Cville Right Now that events like Friday’s show solidarity across issues that are impacting the community. Referencing the meaning of his organization name, “Without Barriers,” he said there are still barriers that need to be broken down.

“Charlottesville is too small not to be one community,” he said.