Chicago, IL – The Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention (DNC) met in Chicago the weekend of April 13. Speaker after speaker testified with fire in their eyes about the need to march against the genocide in Gaza. Along with the speeches, people got down to the tasks needed to bring tens of thousands to Chicago in August to protest the DNC.
The 450 in attendance were overwhelmingly youth. Many are brand new to protest movements, having been thrown into motion by the anti-war and Palestine solidarity movement.
Chicago, IL – On April 17, around 60 members of the United Legal Workers (ULW) picketed in front of the downtown offices of Legal Aid Chicago in an effort to get management back to the table. During the past three months bargaining, workers have advocated for livable wages, cost of living increases, workload relief, and more paid time off.
Chicago, IL – More than 450 people representing 75 organizations gathered in Chicago, April 13, to plan a massive march at the Democratic National Convention, which will stand with Palestine and promote a people’s agenda.
Kobi Guillory of the National Alliance Against Racist and Pollical Repression told conference participants, “We will counterprotest the DNC starting on August 19 to demand an immediate end to the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide, and that no more of our tax dollars are used to fund the massacres of Palestinians.” Guillory also talked about the fight to get permits for a large-family friendly protest, but said that organizers were going to march to within sight and sound of the convention, permits or not.
Chicago IL – On April 3, nearly 70 students rallied at the University of Illinois at Chicago to demand the university do more to support its diverse student body. This included increased funding to cultural centers, ethnic studies programs, diversity programs, increased Black enrollment and retention, and hiring more Black and Latino faculty. Despite freezing wind and rain the students marched and rallied for over an hour, chanting “We’re cold, we’re tired, we don’t like the admin!”
Chicago – On March 30, thousands of Palestinians, Arab Americans and others took to the streets of Chicago to protest the ongoing genocide in Palestine and to demand an end to all U.S. aid to Israel. Protesters rallied in the Federal Plaza and then marched to and occupied Michigan Avenue- a major street in downtown Chicago. This action was the 30th mass mobilization called by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine (CJP) since the Al-Aqsa Flood began on October 7.
Chicago, IL – “We are busy building a new nation out of the embers of apartheid, and if we had sanctions and American companies withdrawing from South Africa it would devastate our country and create a total disaster,” said Naledi Pandor, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.
Chicago, IL – Groups supporting Palestine are suing Chicago to ensure that Joe Biden “can hear us and see us” at the Democratic National Convention in August, sats Kobi Guillory, spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC.
When the convention opens at the United Center, August 19, the coalition is adamant that they get the attention they deserve.
Guillory states, “As the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza continues unabated – with over 32,000 killed, almost all by U.S. bombs and missiles – we must march. This is the party in power, the party of Genocide Joe Biden. Biden could stop the war with one phone call. He refuses to take action, and so we must protest.”
Chicago, IL – The fight to get permits to march on the Democratic National Convention is heating up. On August 19 to the 22, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) comes Chicago. The massive movement against the genocide in Gaza is preparing to march to the United Center where the convention will be held.
The Coalition to March on the DNC has raised the slogans, “Stand with Palestine! End U.S. aid to Israel!”
Chicago, IL – Over 1000 people rallied and marched from the Israeli Consulate through downtown Chicago on March 16 calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel’s genocide in Palestine and an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Irish flags rippled in the wind alongside Palestinian, Yemeni and South African flags on Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, as the afternoon demonstration highlighted the connection between Ireland and Palestine’s history of struggle and the need for solidarity against colonial oppression.
Chicago, IL – 500 people marched through downtown Chicago on March 10 behind banners that read “Stand with the women of Palestine” and “End genocide! Free Palestine from the river to the sea.” The event was organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) together with the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and 14 other organizations in observance of International Women's Day two days before.
Chicago, IL – On Friday morning, March 8, House of Blues Chicago announced that the concert of Zionist musician Matisyahu, scheduled for that night, was canceled. The last minute cancellation came after weeks of pressure from the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), the Anti War Committee – Chicago, Students for a Democratic Society, and members of the Chicago Black and brown coalition for Palestine.
Chicago, IL – “Even if there's a ceasefire tomorrow, we must not stop the pressure because Palestine is not free yet,” stated Husam Marajda, a co-chair of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) addressing a crowd of over 7500 people in Federal Plaza on Saturday afternoon, March 2.
It was the 25th protest organized by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine since the beginning of the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza after the Palestinian resistance launched operation Al Aqsa Flood.
Chicago, IL – “You can't throw a stone and not hit someone who is affected by police torture and wrongful conviction here in Chicago, the torture capital of the United States,” said Merawi Gerima, a co-chair of the Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Torture (CFIST.)
Gerima was speaking at the annual People's Hearing on Police Crimes on Saturday, February 24, at the office of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) in Woodlawn neighborhood on the predominantly Black South Side.
Chicago, IL – On February 18, the Chicago Freedom Road Socialist Organization hosted over 50 members of the community at the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) office to celebrate Black History Month.
The event featured a panel on the historic solidarity between Black and Palestinian organizers in Chicago as well as how that solidarity shows up in practice today, and it was followed by a poetic cultural performance from FRSO and CAARPR member Brian Young, Jr.
Chicago, IL – On January 24, over 60 people crowded the Latino Cultural Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to join a discussion with Juan González of the Great Cities Institute and David Ramirez of the Cuban Embassy around the current immigrant crisis and its root causes. The discussion was co-hosted by two campus groups: New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UIC and Mexican Students de Aztlán (MeSA) at UIC.
Chicago, IL – Organizers with the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention held a press conference outside City Hall on Tuesday morning to speak out against the denial of their permit applications. The Chicago Department of Transportation gave the coalition an alternate route four miles away from where the DNC is scheduled to happen.
Chicago, IL – The Palestinian community and their movement allies won an historic vote January 31. With 500 protesters crowded into City Hall, the Chicago city council passed a ceasefire resolution, becoming the largest city in the country to have done so.
The vote was extremely close: 24 to 23. In fact, the vote among council members ended in a tie – 23 to 23. Mayor Brandon Johnson broke the tie. He forecast his courageous action after last week’s city council meeting when he said to the press, referring to the genocide in Gaza, “The killing has to stop. So, yes, we need a ceasefire,” Johnson said.
Chicago, IL – On Friday, January 26, over 50 people gathered on the University of Illinois at Chicago’s campus to protest the racist and discriminatory practices of the UIC police department. The protest was called jointly by Students for Justice in Palestine and Students for a Democratic Society in response to two separate instances of racist policing and discrimination at the University.
Chicago, IL – Over 300 supporters of the movements for Black and Palestinian liberation showed up to the Wednesday, January 24, Chicago city council meeting.
Organizers spoke in favor of a resolution put forth by Rossana Rodríguez Sanchez and Daniel La Spata calling for a ceasefire in Palestine, and against a Fraternal Order of Police-backed decision to send even the most severe cases of police misconduct to arbitration where they could be handled with no public oversight.
Chicago, IL – On Thursday, January 18, nearly 150 students rallied and marched at the University of Illinois at Chicago as part of Students for a Democratic Society’s national day of action against the U.S. bombing of Yemen and in solidarity with the resistance in Palestine.
