CHICAGO (AP) — Thousands of activists are expected to descend on Chicago this week for the Democratic National Conventionhoping to draw attention to abortion rights, economic injustice and the war in Gaza.
While Vice President Kamala Harris has gained energy As she prepares to accept the Democratic nomination, progressive activists continue to insist their mission remains the same.
Activists say yes lessons learned of last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and predict larger crowds and more robust demonstrations in Chicago, a city with deep roots of social activism.
Demonstrations are expected every day of the convention and while their agendas vary, many activists agree on an immediate ceasefire in the convention. Israel-Hamas war is the priority.
Things kicked off Sunday on the eve of the convention with a march for abortion rights along iconic Michigan Avenue.
Organizer Linda Loew said that while Democrats have pushed to secure reproductive rights domestically, the issue is international. They marched in solidarity with people around the world who are fighting for the right to control what happens to their bodies and to protest the consequences money the US spends to support wars that could be used for health care, she said.
“We believe that the billions of dollars that continue to flow into the State of Israel and the flow of weapons are having an disproportionate and horrific impact, but particularly on women, children and the unborn,” she said. “All these things are connected.”
The largest group, the Coalition to March on the DNC, has planned demonstrations on the first and last days of the convention.
John Moore via Getty Images
Organizers say they expect at least 20,000 activists, including students who protested the war on college campuses.
“The people in power will be there,” said Liz Rathburn, a student organizer at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “People within the United Center are the people who are going to determine our foreign policy one way or another.”
Where are they protesting?
Activists sued the city earlier this year, saying restrictions on where they can demonstrate violate their constitutional rights.
Chicago leaders denied their requests for permits to protest near the United Center on the city’s west side, where the convention is taking place, and instead offered a lakefront park more than three miles away.
Later, the city agreed to allow demonstrations in a park and march route closer to the United Center. A federal judge recently approved the group’s roughly 1-mile route.
Coalition for March on the DNC spokesman Hatem Abudayyeh said the group is pleased to have won the right to protest closer to the convention, but he believes the preferred 2-mile march would be safer for larger crowds. The group charters buses for activists from about six states.
“We’re moving forward, full speed ahead,” he said.
The city has designated a park about a block away from United Center as a speakers stage. Those who register will receive 45 minutes.
The Philadelphia-based Poor People’s Army, which advocates for economic justice, plans to set up shop in Humboldt Park on the city’s northwest side and will host events with third-party candidates. Jill Stein And Cornel West, plus a 3-mile march to the United Center on Monday.
Some group members have walked the 80 miles of Milwaukee protesting in recent weeks the Republican convention.
“Poor and homeless people are being abused, with tents and encampments being destroyed and rolled away, from San Francisco to Philadelphia, Gaza and the West Bank,” spokesperson Cheri Honkala said in a statement when the group reached Illinois. “These avoidable human rights violations are being committed by both Democratic and Republican leaders.”
How does a new nominee change things?
Many activists believe not much will change because Harris is part of the Biden administration.
“The requirements have not changed. I haven’t seen any policy changes,” said Erica Bentley, an activist with Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity. “When you come here, you have to listen to what is important to us.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Chicago were highly visible, to block roads to the airport and organizing sit-ins in congressional offices. Some are planning their own one-day convention Sunday with third-party candidates.
“Regardless of who the nominee is, we are marching against Democrats and their brutal policies that have allowed Israel to kill more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza,” said Fayaani Aboma Mijana, organizer of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
It is unclear whether the convention will attract far-right extremists who fervently support former President Donald Trump.
Secret Service Deputy Special Agent in Charge Derek Mayer said last week that there are no known specific security threats against the convention.
The convention will draw an estimated 50,000 people to the country’s third-largest city, including delegates, activists and journalists.
The city says it has made the necessary preparations together with the police and the secret service. Security will be tight, with street closures around the convention center.
To combat traffic problems, city leaders are touting a new solution $80 million train station steps from the United Center. They have also tried to beautify the city with freshly planted flowers and new signs. So do city leaders cleared a nearby homeless camp.
The police have undergone training In terms of constitutional policing, provincial courts say they are freeing up more space in anticipation of mass arrests and hospitals near the security zone are boosting emergency preparedness.
Authorities and leaders in the state have said people who destroy the city or are violent will be arrested.
“We’re going to make sure that people have their First Amendment rights protected, that they can do that in a safe way,” Mayor Brandon Johnson recently told The Associated Press.
But some are concerned about security, fearing the protests could become unpredictable or devolve into chaos.
Activist Hy Thurman protested and was arrested infamous 1968 convention. The 74-year-old now lives in Alabama, but plans to come to Chicago to protest the war in Gaza.
“It’s very personal to me,” he said. “I see parallels.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has said he expects peaceful protests.
“We intend to protect the First Amendment rights of the protesters, while also protecting the residents of the city of Chicago and visitors to Chicago,” Pritzker recently told the AP.
Associated Press videojournalist Melissa Perez Winder contributed to this report.