On 8 March 1908, thousands of women left the textile factories where they worked and took to the streets of New York with pieces of stale bread and bouquets of roses in hand. They marched for better working conditions, for an end to child labour and for the vote.
The Bread and Roses march kickstarted a feminist movement that rippled across America and the rest of the world. Since 1977, 8 March has been known as International Women’s Day and has been celebrated globally. Last night, to continue the tradition started by those New York textile workers, women came together in cities across the country for a women’s strike.
In London, hundreds gathered in the city’s Leicester Square for a joint women’s and sex worker strike. The crowd heard speeches from striking Great Ormond Street Hospital workers, international unions and anti-war groups as well as a statement from Russian women organising against the war in Ukraine. Strikers then marched en masse to Picadilly Circus to hear from sex workers including representatives of Sex Workers United – a trade union for sex workers who also performed. Labour MP for Nottingham East Nadia Whittome also spoke on the need to decriminalise sex work before the crowds moved into Soho and on to Charing Cross police station.
The police station has been the site of controversy with a recent IOPC report revealing widespread misogyny, homophobia, rape culture and abuse of power by serving officers stationed there. Speakers from the English Collective of Prostitutes and Sisters Uncut addressed the crowds outside the station. The latter have called a demonstration for Saturday 12 March to mark the one year anniversary of the vigil on Clapham Common for Sarah Everard, which was brutally broken up by the police.
Last night was a night of rage, determination and energy on the streets of central London. We sent photographer Bex Wade down to document the action.
Follow Bex Wade on Instagram.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
“A party is a microcosm of a nation”: Caleb Femi on the decline of the house party
To celebrate the publication of his new collection ‘The Wickedest’, Isaac Muk caught up with Femi to talk more about the work, the future of the shoobs, and discuss why having it large on a Saturday night should be cherished.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Celebrating 20 years of The Mighty Boosh
A new exhibition takes a look behind the scenes of the iconic show two decades after its BBC3 premiere.
Written by: Isaac Muk
We Run Mountains: Black Trail Runners tackle Infinite Trails
Soaking up the altitude and adrenaline at Europe’s flagship trail running event, high in the Austrian Alps, with three rising British runners of colour.
Written by: Phil Young
The organisation levelling the playing field in the music industry
Founded in 2022, The Name Game is committed to helping female, non-binary and trans people navigate the industry.
Written by: Djené Kaba
Vibrant, rebellious portraits of young Cubans
A new photobook captures the young people redefining Cuban identity amidst increased economic and political turbulence on the Caribbean island.
Written by: Isaac Muk
How one photographer documented her own, ever-changing image
In her new photobook ‘A women I once knew’, Rosalind Fox Solomon charts the process of getting older through a series of stark self portraits taken over the course of decades.
Written by: Isaac Muk