DNC protests planned over Gaza, other causes as one organizer says, 'People feel betrayed by the Democratic Party'

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DNC 2024 Israel-Hamas War Chicago

DNC protests planned over Gaza, other causes as one organizer says, 'People feel betrayed by the Democratic Party'

Demonstrations are planned outside the Democratic National Convention when Kamala Harris is expected to be confirmed as the party’s presidential candidate. Here’s who’s planning to be there and why they’re protesting.

By  Nader Issa

 

  Aug 12, 2024, 5:30am CDT

 

Protesters opposing Israel’s actions in Gaza are expected to march outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this month.

Ashlee Rezin / Sun-Times file

 

 

Chicago protesters have marched against Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza every weekend since October. But the task of organizing those protests has been difficult while leaders witness the daily violence from Israel’s attacks, including the killing or maiming of their own family or friends.

 

“We’ve been struggling,” said Deanna Othman, a board member of the Chicago chapter of American Muslims for Palestine. “Nobody expected this to last this long.”

This month, they’ll have reinforcements. Demonstrations are planned outside the Democratic National Convention, when the party is expected to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as its presidential candidate.

 

Here’s the inside look at who’s planning to be there, why they’re protesting and what they’re aiming to achieve.

Where, when will this happen?

Protesters are expected to hit the streets on the first, third and last day of the convention — Aug. 19. Aug. 21 and Aug. 22 — marking the kickoff and the acceptance speeches of both Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the vice presidential candidate, and Harris.

The largest of the planned demonstrations, the marches on the DNC, are scheduled to start at noon Aug. 19, and 5 p.m. Aug. 22, with rallies at Union Park on the Near West Side. Speakers from community organizations will take turns on the microphone, and organizers aim to book a few noteworthy politicians and celebrities, after which those gathered will march to the vicinity of the United Center, where the DNC main events will be held.

The route has been the subject of a monthslong court fight between city officials, who have denied protest permits, and organizers, who want to demonstrate within sight and sound of the United Center to get their message to Democratic Party VIPs.

 

The city agreed last month to allow the rally to go on at Union Park, less than a half-mile east of the arena. But Hatem Abudayyeh, a chief organizer of the march and the national chair of the Chicago-based U.S. Palestinian Community Network advocacy group, said the proposed march path is too short and will take protesters down smaller streets, leading to potentially dangerous bottlenecks.

 

Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the Arab American Action Network.

Ashlee Rezin / Sun-Times file

Organizers are asking to go west on Washington Boulevard from Union Park, north on Western Avenue, east on Lake Street and back south on Ashland Avenue.

A protest against the war in Gaza is planned for the Wednesday evening of the convention. And a march for LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights is scheduled on Michigan Avenue the eve of the DNC.

Protest organizers are concerned about how the Chicago Police Department will handle the protests and have held safety training sessions in preparation. They point to the department’s forceful response to demonstrations after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 and images of cops beating demonstrators with batons during the Democratic convention in 1968.