Apr 23

Apr 23 Red, Green, and Black

Demonstrations, Performance, Protest, Street

Lately Chicago’s streets have been dominated by Ukrainian blue and yellow, but when I arrived at the Art Institute today, Michigan Avenue was filled with Palestinian red, green and black. Somewhere between 300 and 750 demonstrators marched north on Michigan Avenue from Congress to Randolph, where they turned the corner, heading south back to Congress. The demonstrations stretched a good city block, with stragglers at points expanding the length to two blocks, but with gaps in between clusters of people.

At first, I was a bit surprised, but Jerusalem has seen its share of violence in recent days, with the Al-Aqsa mosque serving as the locus for all the commotion. Muslim and Jewish protesters have been trying to reassert control over what the Jews refer to as the Temple Mount. One of the far-right Jewish faithful tried to smuggle a goat onto the plaza, hoping to re-enact the scene from the biblical story in which Abraham is about to sacrifice his son, Issac, to honor God’s demand. Others members of the Israeli far right wanted to conduct Passover services on the Temple Mount.

Past disturbances in the Middle East have brought Palestinian protesters to Chicago’s streets, but I have never witnessed a large turnout lie the one I stumbled upon today. According to historical news accounts, several prior demonstrations in Chicago and its suburbs have involved thousands of demonstrators.

The Palestinians were apparently taking a page from the Ukrainian community’s book. They closed down Michigan Avenue for at least an hour, filling it with flag-waving demonstrators. Like the Ukrainian demonstrations, today’s Palestinian demonstration must have come together quickly given the timeline of events in the Middle East. The chaos seems to have erupted during the current Passover, Easter, and Ramden holidays, with the three coinciding this year.

I found the chants to be particularly interesting. Like just about every other demonstration I have attended over the last seven years, I heard, “The people united, will never be defeated,” over and over. it has become a golden oldie.

The demonstrators were uniformly enthusiastic and peaceful in exercising their First Amendment rights. To my eye, however, the police adopted a slightly different posture today than they typically adopt.

As usual, the CPD was highly professional, relying on coordinated movements and formations. Yet, I sensed that many officers were wary. When I saw one person, apparently sympathetic to the Israelis, taunting the demonstrators from the sidewalk, I immediately realized that the police had legitimate concerns. They reacted with speed, putting themselves between the lone provocateur and the demonstrators. The situation could quickly have erupted into violence, but within a minute or two, the police defused it. I had trouble assessing exactly what was happening because pedestrians continued to walk through the scene, but I thought I saw several demonstrators move toward the the man being restrained by a police officer.

For only the second time in covering countless protest marches and demonstrations, I was hassled by a demonstrator. The first time it was some young anarchist who threatened to smash my camera. Evidently to him, the First Amendment protects his voice, but not other voices.

Today, it was an old man, who I assume was Palestinian or at least sympathetic to their cause. He demanded to know who I was and why I was taking photographs. He should have been happy that someone took an interest in the demonstration; I saw a number of what I perceived to be demonstrators with cameras, but there were no visible members of the media. I have yet to see any coverage in the Chicago Tribune or the Chicago Sun-Times.

The man apparently assumed that I was either a government agent, a Jew building some sort of database, or someone with other nefarious motives.

Whenever I photograph a demonstration, I consciously take a neutral stance, although that stance has been hard to maintain as the Ukrainians take to the streets.. For me, demonstrations are about energy, passion, and portraiture. It is invigorating to witness people who are passionate about their beliefs, and are willing to take public stands. In this particular case, the man might have been surprised to learn that I have been critical of the Israeli far right and their land grabs.

I did respond to him, telling him I regularly photograph demonstrations. When he became more aggressive with his questions, I turned and walked away. Looking back, I noticed that he was then talking with two other men, while pointing at me. I am happy that the police saturate demonstrations. They protect the demonstrators’ rights, as well as mine.

I do not want to close on a sour note. Those who were in the streets today were friendly, with plenty of visible smiles. Several demonstrators flashed the Peace sign when I pointed my camera at them, or instructed their kids to smile and hold the sign higher.

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