Protesters gathered along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile for a “boycott Black Friday” demonstration involving several activist groups.
The demonstrators included a number of community organizations, churches, youth groups, unions and survivors of police crimes and their families, according to the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, who is putting on the event.
The demonstration began with a 10 a.m. rally at Water Tower Monument with more than 100 protesters gathered, a smaller number than last year's massive event.
Protesters were heard chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Rahm Emanuel has got to go" and "No justice, no peace."
The alliance called for a Black Friday boycott in response to “the hard-hearted refusal by Mayor Emanuel, the Chicago City Council and the powers that be in this city, to acknowledge and implement the people's demand for an all elected Civilian Police Accountability Council.”
“We are fully aware that calling for a Boycott of the Magnificent Mile on the day after Thanksgiving is a bold move,” the group said in a release. “It is bold because, in calling for and executing this Boycott Black Friday movement, we are confronting the corporate bosses of Chicago, and this nation, who have their hands on all the levers of power. This has been made even more profoundly true with the election of Donald Trump.”
Last year, hundreds of protesters descended on the major strip during the nationwide shopping frenzy in response to the release of dash-cam video showing the fatal shooting of Lawuan McDonald by a Chicago police officer.
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“It has now been 365 days since the covered up murder of Laquan McDonald was revealed to the people of Chicago and the world. It has been 365 days and still we are shouting ‘Sixteen Shots and a Cover Up’ and still no justice, and no concession whatsoever, to our demands for community control of the police,” the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression said in a statement.
It remains unclear how many protesters plan to attend the demonstration. The Chicago Police Department and the Mag Mile Association have not responded to requests for comment on the event.
