Join Chicago Documenters for a Community of Practice to discuss the upcoming DNC in Chicago

By Grace Del Vecchio

Protesters crowd Grant Park during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Photo: Chicago History Museum, ICHi-059480; Peter Bullock, photographer

The Democratic National Convention in Chicago

Join us at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 13 at the City Bureau office (3619 S. State St.) for a Community of Practice discussion about the upcoming DNC in Chicago!

This August, some 50,000 people will descend on Chicago for the four-day Democratic National Convention. Delegates from all 50 states; Washington, D.C.; and U.S. territories will come together to select the party’s 2024 presidential candidate and their running mate. 

Delegates, who often are party leaders or elected officials (often simply abbreviated as PLEO), are chosen to represent their state or territory and are usually elected during their state’s primaries (you can view the list of Illinois delegates here). The Republican Party will host its nominating convention  from July 15-18 in Milwaukee. Possibly the most suspenseful part of the RNC at this point is who presumptive nominee Donald Trump will select as his running mate.

Back in January, we touched on some of Chicago’s historic movements as we looked ahead to this summer’s event, posing the question: When it comes to responding to public dissent in Chicago, what will Mayor Brandon Johnson’s legacy be? With the DNC right around the corner, Chicago could once again be the stage for historic movement.

The DNC is meant to be a site of unification for Democrats, where they establish a cohesive platform and party goals. But that’s not always what makes headlines — during some conventions, it’s what’s happening outside that gets people’s attention.

Past and Present: Unrest and the DNC

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April 1968, igniting uprisings on Chicago’s West Side which spread across the country. Two years earlier, King briefly moved to North Lawndale in an attempt to accelerate the Civil Rights Movement in the North, joining activists fighting predatory housing and lending practices, labor discrimination and school segregation. 

The rebellion was “more than the King assassination. It was about the people on the West Side — Black people on the West Side — being tired of being tired,” Clara Fitzpatrick told WBEZ on the 50th anniversary of King’s murder. “And so, maybe it was King that sparked it, but it was deep emotional hurt that kept it going.” Fitzpatrick is the daughter of J.M. Stone, the founding pastor of Stone Temple Baptist Church, where King spoke multiple times during his stay in North Lawndale.

Then-Mayor Richard J. Daley responded viciously to uprisings — he was recorded ordering then-Police Superintendent James Conslik to "shoot to kill" arsonists and "shoot to maim or cripple" looters.

The uprisings continued, accompanied by protests in opposition to the Vietnam War, which had been ongoing since the United States joined the offensive in 1965. 

The city enacted a strict and highly political permit code system. Because of this, dissenters often acted without permits and, in turn, were subject to forcible removal by police. This dissent came to a head when thousands of protesters, many of whom were students and young adults, took over Lincoln Park, establishing an encampment a week ahead of the DNC. At 11 p.m. the night before the start of the convention, thousands of police descended into Lincoln Park, pepper spraying, tear gassing and beating protesters. 

This violent police response to protests continued throughout the DNC; as delegates fought inside the now-demolished International Amphitheatre, protesters were brutalized in the streets, resulting in 650 arrests, an untold number of injuries and the famous trial of the Chicago Seven.

There are clear comparisons between the political climate in 1968 and 2024. This spring, protesters came out strongly in response to the police killing of Dexter Reed in March alongside protests in opposition to the ongoing bombardment of Gaza by U.S.-backed Israel since October. 

The police response to the Pro-Palestine demonstrations intensified April 15, culminating in the arrest of 54 protesters at two separate actions — arrests which included leaders of the Coalition for Justice in Palestine (CJP).

Our Thursday Event

A Community of Practice (CoP) is a relaxed, conversational learning exchange for Chicago Documenters and other folks in our City Bureau network. At our upcoming CoP, we want to continue the conversation about the DNC, its history in Chicago and what it means to Chicagoans now.

Until then, here are some questions to consider: 

  • Have you heard about this year’s Democratic National Convention? 

  • Do you plan to attend any events related to the DNC? 

  • Do you foresee events that take place at the DNC having an impact on how you view candidates?

  • Do you foresee the DNC having an impact on your day-to-day life (work, transit, childcare, etc.)?

  • Do you (or family/friends) have memories of the 1968 DNC in Chicago?

Have more to add to the discussion? Share your thoughts and questions ahead of the CoP via this short form.

A version of this story was first published in the June 12, 2024 edition of Newswire, a newsletter filled with civic knowledge and opportunities designed for Chicagoans who want to make a difference in the life of their communities by connecting them with civic knowledge and opportunities.

This story is available to republish under a Creative Commons license. Read City Bureau’s guidelines here.

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