March on the DNC kicks off in Union Park, drawing thousands of protesters
One of the most significant protests expected during this week’s Democratic National Convention got underway Monday, as thousands of people descended upon Union Park to protest the Israel-Hamas war.
They chanted, waved flags, carried signs and listened to a series of speakers — including Cornel West — ahead of a planned parade. Still, the crowd seemed to fall well short of the 25,000 or so predicted by its organizers. The march kicked off about 2:45 p.m.
West, an academic and activist running as a third-party candidate for president, walked through Union Park surrounded by demonstrators as he made his way toward the stage.
“The people’s voices from below are not being heard,” said West, insisting the United States’ support of Israel is unjust.
Omar Younis, co-founder of Jisoor, an Arab and Palestinian youth organizing group, told reporters Monday that protesters are troubled by the “legacy of U.S. military aid that has long supported Israel’s brutal subjugation of Palestinians.
“During this genocide, Israel destroyed more than 70% of the homes in Gaza — many of which my family lived in — and displaced more than 1.5 million Palestinians,” he said ahead of the March on the DNC rally.
“My community wakes up to photos and videos of our family and friends decapitated, burned to death, killed by 2,000-pound Israeli bombs dropped on their homes,” he said. “This pain is what drives the people of Chicago out into the streets in the thousands every single weekend.”
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, a Milwaukee-based organization focused on immigrant and labor rights, said she came to “stand in solidarity with Palestinians” and “push for immigration reform.”
“We want people to participate, but at the same time put pressure on the Democrats to deliver on their promises and to support demands that are happening right around ending the funding for the war in Gaza,” said Neumann-Ortiz.
She added: “For many of us here … we’ve been in the struggle together for many years. So that trust is there, that support is there. It’s gotten stronger over time, and I think that’s where the power and the change is gonna come from.”
She said she’s confident protest organizers will keep the demonstration from going off the rails, and that any illegal activity will be “isolated” so it doesn’t detract from their message.
Activist Leslie Angeline, 67, said she was born on Chicago’s North Side but hasn’t been back in 43 years. She explained she drove here from Northern California to encourage Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, to push for an end to the war in Gaza.
She said she has recently traveled the globe calling for a cease-fire, advocating on Capitol Hill and working with a coalition in Europe that’s fighting against the Israeli blockade of Gaza. She said she’s praying that the current cease-fire talks result in a pause in fighting.
“My heart is beyond broken,” said Angeline, who works with the anti-war nonprofit Code Pink: Women for Peace. “My heart is shattered at this point. I never thought it would last this long.
Organizers of the event have been at odds with City Hall for months over the path for the parade. The city initially tried to push protests out to Columbus Drive in Grant Park. Eventually, it offered a new path near the United Center. Protesters weren’t satisfied and wanted a longer route in that area, but a federal judge declined to intervene at their request.
The city said the protest march should begin at Union Park and travel west on Washington to Hermitage, north to Maypole, west to Park 578 and then to Damen, north to Lake Street and then return to Union Park.
Protesters and City Hall also briefly butted heads over whether key equipment could be used in the park, including portable toilets. The protesters declared “victory” when the city relented. However, more than a hundred people could be seen standing in line for only seven portable toilets ultimately made available to rally-goers.
“I think the bathroom situation is a microcosm of how the city is restricting these protests,” said Zac Spalding, 23, of Lake View.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling pointed to a separate protest Sunday as a model for the rallies that are expected to continue throughout the week. Sunday’s march was peaceful and resulted in just two misdemeanor arrests.
“We hope for the exact same outcome for every protest that everyone gets to express their First Amendment rights,” Snelling said.
Police arrested two people about 8 p.m. Sunday in the 600 block of South Wabash Avenue. A 23-year-old woman and 28-year-old man both face misdemeanor charges of resisting or obstructing a peace officer. The woman was additionally charged with criminal defacement of property and the man with criminal damage, police said.