Please come to Chicago, on August 25, 2018, and help us send a strong message: No more war! No more police violence! Fund human needs, not destruction and death! Respect human rights at home and abroad!
Press Conference: 50 Years Since the Democratic Convention in Chicago
What: News conference announcing protest against war and police violence on the 50th anniversary of the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
At a time when the United States is using drones to bomb probably more countries than at any time since World War II and police violence continues to rock Chicago politics, the legacy of the anti-convention protests and movement against the Vietnam War carry important lessons for today.
When: 1 pm, Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Where: General John Logan Statue in Grant Park, scene of the most iconic protests against the 1968 Democratic Convention, corner of 9th Street and S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago.
Who: Chicago Committee Against War & Racism (CCAWR), organizer of the 10,000-strong march on Lake Shore Drive at the start of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Speakers will feature key members of todayâs anti-war movement, including:
* Andy Thayer of Gay Liberation Network
* Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Non-Violence
* Natasha Ersk of Veterans for Peace
* Vicki Cervantes of La Voz de los de Abajo
* Vince Emanuel, Marine Corps vet of the Iraq war and noted anti-war speaker
* Rich Whitney, co-chair of the Illinois Green Party
Chicago Committee Against War and Racism - ccawr.org
Press Release Chicago Committee Against War and Racism Unite Against War and Police Violence - The Call
Fifty years ago, in the summer of 1968, the country was in turmoil. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy had been assassinated. While most laws officially endorsing racism had been abolished, de facto discrimination remained stubbornly entrenched.
Fifty years ago, in the summer of 1968, the country was in turmoil. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy had been assassinated. While most laws officially endorsing racism had been abolished, de facto discrimination remained stubbornly entrenched. The war to ensure U.S. domination of Southeast Asia had been escalating.
In response, people of color began using more militant tactics to confront racist oppression and poverty, and young people increasingly began protesting our governmentâs illegal and immoral war on Vietnam. State and city authorities, in turn, used police and National Guard troops to suppress protest and literally beat down people struggling for progress.
These conflicts came to a head in Chicago as it hosted the Democratic National Convention in late August 1968. The growing movement for peace was attacked by the Democratic Party leadership both inside and outside of the convention. Inside, although 80 percent of Democratic primary voters had voted for anti-war candidates Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, or George McGovern, the party-insider delegates selected pro-war candidate Hubert Humphrey on the first ballot and voted down a proposal to support peace in the party platform.
Outside, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley called up 23,000 police and National Guard troops to suppress protestors. Police savagely beat and tear-gassed the thousands of anti-war protestors who came to the city to exercise their rights of free speech and assembly, in what was later aptly described as a âpolice riot.â Journalists and other bystanders were also beaten and arrested, including residents who happened to live where demonstrations were occurring.
The corporate media will cover these events from 50 years ago. We can safely predict that they will cover the history weâve just recited with a superficial gloss, a time for nostalgic reflection with no bearing on todayâs world. The talking heads will lament that there was so much âviolenceâ back then; theyâll downplay comparisons to the present and ignore the real issues of the day that drove millions into the streets.
Worse, they will try to persuade us that the U.S. has mostly outgrown issues of war, poverty, racism â and the brutal tactics used by leaders of both parties, locally and nationally, to ensure these forms of domination. They will pretend that U.S. is not at war today, and that Americaâs efforts at military domination of most of the world donât directly impact inequality and third-rate social services in every sphere here at home.
We call upon peace, anti-poverty, anti-racist and other progressive organizations to reject this narrative. We must reject the American ruling classâs attempt to whitewash its history and dismiss its current acts of criminal violence. The truth must be told: As in 1968, the U.S. economic and political elites, and their military servants, are still committing horrific acts of war against the peoples of other nations. They use our tax dollars to fund these wars while ignoring pressing human needs at home. Their police continue to suppress dissent and repress people of color and anyone else who dares to challenge their power.
In most respects, conditions are worse than they were 50 years ago.
Full document at ccawr.org
A revived and unified, on-the-ground movement for peace and social justice, and against racism, poverty and police violence, is badly needed in the U.S. today. We call on peace, anti-poverty, anti-racist and other progressive organizations, and all persons of conscience: Please come to Chicago, on August 25, 2018, and help us send a strong message: No more war! No more police violence! Fund human needs, not destruction and death! Respect human rights at home and abroad!
Rally at Noon, Richard J. Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois.
March at 1 pm to Grant Park and the Gen. John Logan Statue, scene of the most iconic protest at the 1968 convention.
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