Protesters march to the DNC on Monday. | Taryn Fivek / People’s World
CHICAGO — Despite the massive police presence and the sealing off of entire Chicago neighborhoods behind walls, checkpoints and passes, the Democratic National Convention was relatively peaceful. The spirit of the turbulent 1968 convention raised expectations for some, but for the thousands of delegates who were supposed to represent their constituents, the process of getting in and out of the convention itself left a deeper impression.
Folk world did not receive DNC press accreditation for the official convention events, but reported from the fringes of the grounds and from the numerous unofficial convention events such as those at the Progressive Democrats of America’s Progressive Central, the headquarters of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, and the various caucus meetings at McCormick Place, far from the main stage at the United Center. Our reporters were also on the streets, covering the protests surrounding the DNC and the general impression of workers in the Chicago area.
The question of access was on everyone’s mind: “What was striking about this (conference) was the inaccessibility of many official processes,” said CJ Atkins, editor-in-chief of World of people. The DNC and Chicago police joined forces to keep media and independent groups away from the delegates. “In past years, we’ve had pretty easy access and been able to go directly to the delegates and talk to them.”
At the 2024 DNC, delegates were apparently much harder to reach. They were shielded behind checkpoints, bomb-sniffing dogs, strategically placed garbage trucks, barricades and 12-foot-high walls anchored by concrete barriers. There were also legions of police with batons strapped to their belts and behind protective visors. Union officials and businesses near the United Center boarded up their windows in anticipation of unrest.
All of these measures sent shivers down the Windy City. Folk world When they were given access to the delegates, many refused to give their names or make any official statements. Folk world Reporters saw delegates removing their ID cards, saying they did so to avoid being identified by protesters, many of whom stood near the entrances holding signs denouncing the DNC’s Gaza policy.
Yet despite the $72 million spent on security for the DNC, much of which went to Chicago police and their overtime budget, only 74 people were arrested during the protests surrounding the convention, with four of them hospitalized. Chicago Police Commissioner Larry Snelling took a victory lap at a press conference with Mayor Brandon Johnson on Friday morning. The low arrest numbers and statistical drop in crime during the convention, he said, “show how effective the approach (of policing) was.”
Freddy Martinez, director of Lucy Parsons Labs, a police accountability research organization in Chicago, points out that $72 million is about 5% of the Chicago Police Department’s annual budget, but is still a lot of money for a four-day event. “The majority of that is spent on police overtime,” Martinez said. World of people. “They spent a lot of money on equipment. They also bought a helicopter and even held a press conference about it. They were very proud of this helicopter.”
Send an email to Folk world by Lucy Parsons Labs with a preliminary budget from Illinois State Rep. Mike Quigley’s office also allocated $5 million to contract up to 250 people from outside state agencies and $1 million for barricades.
Although at least two helicopters were deployed during the protests, this did not seem to be absolutely necessary. The protest marches went off without a hitch and were accompanied by protest marshals. The arrests during the DNC mainly occurred outside of the planned protests and marches.
There was minimal disruption on the convention grounds itself: three delegates held up a banner reading “Stop Arming Israel” on the first night and then quickly removed it. Sources reported Folk world that on the second night, some delegates held up the names of children killed during the Gaza war and that these signs were covered by staff.
According to John Bachtell, Folk world According to a correspondent who was at the United Center last night, “isolated voices” objected to Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech when she emphasized her commitment to “always” ensuring that “Israel has the ability to defend itself.” Bachtell also noted that delegates broke into a standing ovation when Harris mentioned that Palestinians had the right to self-determination.
The Uncommitted Campaign staged a 22-hour sit-in outside the United Center to pressure the DNC to allow a Palestinian-American speaker to deliver pre-screened remarks from the main stage, but was ultimately denied. They were supported by a number of progressive elected officials, progressive organizations and leaders in the African-American community, as well as the UAW.
Winning the majority of votes in the Midwest is crucial to a Democratic victory in November. Why has the DNC taken such a risk when it insists that winning this year’s election is necessary to save democracy?
“They said this was Kamala Harris’ biggest night of her life and it could not be defined by it,” said Waleed Shahid, senior advisor and co-chair of the Uncommitted Campaign, World of people. “And we said, ‘You had Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.'”
Martinez says it did indeed seem like an unnecessary mistake not to allow a Palestinian American to speak on the DNC stage, but it followed a logic that has been familiar for decades regarding the modern peace movement. “I think this follows decades where solidarity with the Palestinian people was basically viewed as terrorism,” Martinez said. Folk world“These laws on material support for terrorism were about criminalizing solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
The new laws also brought new federal funding for law enforcement. Special police units such as the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group were originally created as special counterterrorism units, but are now used almost exclusively against protests and civil disobedience.
“Certain forms of dissent within the United States have increasingly been viewed as a threat to national security, and currently there is a view in particular that groups that are in solidarity with the Palestinians should be treated as a threat to national security,” Martinez continued.
Despite this war on terror approach, Democratic voters are increasingly in favor of a ceasefire and an arms embargo against Israel because of the human cost of the war on Gaza. The Uncommitted Campaign was able to collect 325 signatures on a petition to the Harris-Walz campaign and the DNC, and more names are being added daily.
As the election approaches and pressure for a ceasefire and an arms embargo grows, Democrats still have time to chart a new course in their policy toward Israel. Despite limited attendance at the convention and the campaign’s desire not to let the genocide in Gaza overshadow the nomination of the party’s first black woman to the presidency, the issue is not going away.
The Uncommitted movement’s insistence on working across the barricades, from the streets to the convention floor, reveals both its understanding of the serious threat Trump poses and its deep commitment to serious political change.
A sign at the DNC march on Monday, held prominently near the front of the march, read simply: “We are trying to help you, Kamala.”
Like all news, analysis and opinion articles published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.
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