Apple Protest: Raging Grannies Perform Song, Dance, Mic Check on Father's Day

Bet you didn't know that the very first Father's Day commemoration was in remembrance of a mining disaster that brought attention to the plight of working people and unsafe working conditions across the US, when hundreds of fathers died in one mine in W. Virginia in 1908.

With the holiday's origins on their mind, members of the Raging Grannies Action League joined San Jose and Redwood City Occupy groups to demonstrate in front of the Apple store on University Ave. during World Music Day in downtown Palo Alto. World Music Day is a world wide music festival that takes place around the summer solstice. It is a day when sidewalks, parks, community gardens, and other public places become impromptu musical stages for both amateur and professional musicians. All concerts and performances are free and open to the public. In Palo Alto, streets were closed to traffic for the event.

The Raging Grannies' song "What is the Meaning of Father's Day" and dancing to the beat of VL Trio's Cuban music drew crowds to the intersection of University and Kipling. Occupy members joined the Grannies at around 4:00pm and together the group sang and performed an Occupy style "mic check" calling Apple out on its labor abuses in China.