Apr 20

Apr 20 CPD Permits March

Chicago, Demonstrations, Protest, Public Declarations

I had no intention of attending the pro-Palestinian demonstration this week, particularly one scheduled for Michigan Avenue on a Saturday, but I nevertheless attended for two reasons. First, I had a friend who attends some of the demonstrations as an active participant, and he wanted to get together afterwards.

Second, I had several questions following this past Monday’s pro-Palestinian demonstration; the one that resulted in 14 arrests after the Chicago Police Department ordered the demonstrators to disburse. Later in the week, the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine posted a notice for today’s demonstration. The organizers indicated that they would provide bus transportation from several locations to the site of the demonstration. They also stated that given the arrests, they hoped today’s demonstration would be the largest one since October 7, 2023. Against that backdrop, I wondered whether the turnout would fulfill the organizer’s hopes, and whether CPD would allow a march. Briefly, here is what I learned:

CPD has not yet returned the sound system that they confiscated on Monday. The organizers borrowed a sound system for today’s rally.
One organizer spent two days and nights in police detention before being released. My impression is that he was not the only demonstrator who had an extended stay.
On Monday, those who were arrested will appear in court. At that time, they hope the court will order the return of the sound system.
According to one speaker, CPD officers were responsible for last Monday’s violence, which included striking demonstrators and ripping a female demonstrator’s hijab off her head. For the record, I did not see the hijab incident, nor did I see CPD officers assaulting demonstrators. I did see pushing and shoving by both cops and demonstrators, as well as cops deflecting hands thrust at them and also subduing several demonstrators. Believe me, as a photographer, I am on the lookout for physical altercations.
Given Monday’s arrests, I was not surprised to see members of the National Lawyers Guild out in force today. In fact, for the first time in my memory, a member of the Guild addressed the demonstrators. The lawyer who did the honors was a moron when it comes to branding. He made his speech without wearing the Guild’s signature green cap. So much for including a picture of him in my photo montage.
The pro-Palestinian movement is flagging. Today’s numbers far exceeded the meager turnouts at the last three demonstrations that I attended, but the turnout was nowhere near the largest one since October 7. I was speaking with a CPD official toward the front of the march. He guessed the number was around 500. I countered, that it was more likely a 1,000 people. He acknowledged that I could be right because he had spent the entire demonstration toward the front.

Three other points warrant note. First, during the rally preceding the march, several speakers referenced Dexter Reed, the 26-year-old man who was shot to death by five members of a CPD tactical squad following a traffic stop last month. The shooting will fuel demonstrations throughout the summer because the alleged traffic violation was minor, the arresting officers were in plain clothes, and even though Reed was the one who apparently first opened fire, hitting a police officer, the officers allegedly fired 96 shots, with many calling that excessive.

I have no interest in litigating the Reed dispute, but I do note that it is totally unrelated to the situation in Palestine, particularly Gaza. Those raising the Reed shooting, nevertheless tried to draw a linkage, arguing that CPD is just as brutal as the Israelis, as evidenced by last Monday’s arrests and the Reed shooting.

When the organizers permit speakers to raise issues ‘largely’ unrelated to Gaza, the organizers may be doing so to expand their base of supporters—in Dexter Reed’s case, turning out members of the Black Lives Matter movement at pro-Palestinian rallies. The organizers, however, dilute their core message and may alienate some people who would other support the pro-Palestinian movement. My friend, who was present and who is probably farther to the Left than many of the demonstrators who were present, specifically noted that he did not like the decision to add the Reed matter to the mix. Like me, he believes to be effective, a rally should focus on a single rather than a laundry list of issues.

Second, when the marchers arrived at the intersection of Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue, they staged a sit-in, which I took as a symbolic act designed to highlight the sit-in on Monday that had resulted in the 14 arrests. Interestingly, most of those sitting in were women, which I suspect was intentional decision on the part of the organizers, either intended to highlight the hijab incident or make the largely male CPD contingency think twice about arrests.

Third, and relatedly, the organizers and the police were on speaking terms. Although the two groups were not as jocular in their interactions as had previously been the case, I did not sense open hostility. I am not entirely sure, but I think several of the organizers who interacted with the police were among those who were arrested Monday.

Maybe there is hope for peace in the Middle East after all.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order.]