By Samantha Ho, Patience Hurston, and Maya Liquigan

August 19, 2024

Thousands gathered on Monday, Aug. 19 at Union Park to protest against the Israel-Hamas war on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. While the protest was primarily billed as a “march for Palestine,” more than 200 organizations joined to demand reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights and to push for climate change and Medicaid reform, among other issues.

The protestors filled Union Park, at 1501 W. Randolph St., with Palestinian flags and signs reading “Stand with Gaza” and “End U.S Aid to Israel.” People wrapped in checkered keffiyehs, a traditional Middle Eastern head scarf that has grown popular as a sign of support for the Palestinian rights movement, chanted for a “Free Palestine,” while handing out resource materials.

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West rallied the crowd, which welcomed him with cheers.

“We have a love for our Palestinians and we have a love for our oppressed people around the world but at the moment it’s about Gaza,” said West. 

West, along with many other speakers, said that the Democratic Party is presenting inclusion as a tactic. 

“A lot of folk are getting excited for sister Harris because she’s a Black sister with family in India but I’m going to say a Black face in a high place with the same empire, the same predatory capitalist processes, the same policies genocide does not move me. What kind of moral character do you have?” 

After two hours of speeches, the marchers moved to Washington Boulevard to march near the United Center, one of the sites of the convention.

The Coalition to March on the DNC had filed suit in federal court in Chicago to get closer to the official locations where the DNC is being held this week. They won some concessions but lost others, including their desired route for the march inside the security zone.

The noon protest on Monday was the first of several pro-Palestinian protests planned this week in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention to call for an end to the war in Gaza.

Erin Stene, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, said her organization brought two busloads of people to be a part of this protest, and hopes Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was recently named as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, finally divests the state’s government bonds from Israel. 

“I was cited for trespassing on [Tim Walz’s] lawn in February. We were trying to get a meeting because he won’t listen to us,” said Stene. “I hope they get the really really clear message that we are beyond a ceasefire being the goal, we’re at the point that we need an arms embargo.”

A few hours after the DNC started, the Biden administration announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to a proposal to try to end the nearly year-old war. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters that Israel supports the ‘bridging proposal’ that the Biden administration had been pushing to release the remaining Israeli hostages. Hamas still has to accept the agreement. 

Several dozen counter protesters, some carrying Israeli flags, stayed on the edge of the park. Some carried signs that declared, “End Hamas” and “America is Doomed.” Others held signs with references to “trusting in god.” In opposition to two counter protestors, a man stood directly in front, shouting “That is not my god.” The counter-protesters dispersed before the march towards the United Center.

This was the second day of protests after Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, a coalition of feminist and LGBTQ+ organizations, marched from Michigan Avenue to Grant Park on Sunday, Aug. 18. Two arrests were made.

Sierra Moore, who traveled to Chicago from Michigan, said that for months she looked for a way to support an end to the Israel-Hamas war that went beyond posting on social media. The chance to march at the DNC drew Moore out of her comfort zone to use her voice and take action. 

“It’s all connected: immigration rights, workers rights, police violence, reproductive rights and just seeing so many people rise up and trying to make a difference is really inspiring,” Moore said. “Even just this little spark, I hope kind of ignites a fire.”

Michael Wood, who came to the rally from Minneapolis as a member of the Minnesota Climate Justice Committee, said he believes “there is no such thing as an environmental movement without supporting anti-war movements.”

“The U.S. military is the number one polluter on the planet and the current genocide in Gaza needs to end for the planet and for Palestinian people,” said Wood. “In the first two months of Israel’s assault on Gaza it produced more emissions than the bottom 20 countries’ annual emissions output combined.”

As someone part of the LGBTQ+ community, Moore said she feels personal attachments to the “attack on the trans population” and how many policies are “this steady erosion of everything that the community has worked for.”

Protesters with the Socialist Alternative were also calling for Medicaid and free, safe access to abortion for all, and protestors from CODEPINK carried signs, reading “The women in Gaza are our sisters” and “Genocide is not feminist.” Members of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights were handing out signs that said, “No pride in apartheid” in rainbow with an additional watermelon graphic, symbolizing their support for Palestine.

Many protesters, like Tavyan Dorsey with the Freedom Socialist Organization, said it is important to show up physically at the DNC and use their voices to get the attention of the Democratic party and “show that we don’t stand with either party.”

Dorsey was concerned about the stances that each candidate takes on specific issues regarding reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights. He does not support Former President Donald Trump who “wants to strip away reproductive rights from women” or Vice President Kamala Harris who “incarcerated thousands of Black men” and “denied Black trans people healthcare” in her time as attorney general. 

He was also wary that “both parties are going to continue the white supremacists ideals” and critiqued Harris’ stance on reproductive rights during the Israel-Hamas war. “If you stand for them in the U.S., you should stand for them in Palestine.”

Patrick Gibson, a member of Workers Strike Back, came from Seattle, Washington, to rally supporters behind independent presidential candidate Jill Stein.

“I think there are a lot of people from across the country who recognize this is one of the most important opportunities to register their opposition to the genocidal war happening in Gaza right now,” said Gibson.

Gibson said Workers Strike Back endorsed Stein with their membership because she’s “the most serious anti-war candidate on the ballot.”

Evan Thompson, a Columbia alum from Evanston, Illinois, is a supporter of third-party candidates and wanted to express that “the two-party system is moreso leading to an oligarchy, and we need more representation in our political system, and third-party candidates, like Jill Stein or Claudia De la Cruz deserve to have as much of a voice as the Democratic or Republican Party.”

Thompson said, “With the Democratic Party, they give a lot of lip service, they don’t always do what they say they’re going to do, and I think that’s one of my main fears when it comes to LGBT rights or abortion rights.”

As thousands marched from Union Park to the United Center chanting “Free Palestine,” protesters noted why it was essential to march on the DNC during this year’s election. 

Julia Cirsman, from the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, said that the most important issue to her is “defunding Israel,” and that whether or not the candidates are influenced by today’s protest, the important thing is that people showed up and were there to represent. 

“I’m just one person, but at the same time, everyone here is just one person,” she said. “I think that it’s really important for all of us to have our voices heard when we come together, and we’re able to show people just how many people care about these kinds of things.”