March against white supremacy draws 3,000 downtown

Organizers said around 3,000 people came out for a march Aug. 27 to express solidarity against white supremacy. Representing more than 40 community groups and beginning with a rally in Federal Plaza, organizers and speakers expressed their desire to be in solidarity with groups in San Francisco and Berkeley who were protesting far-right rallies the weekend of Aug 26-27.

Many of the march’s speakers both defined and condemned white supremacy as it applied to their various causes, connecting it to recent events in Chicago area. A few mentioned fascist and white supremacist graffiti that appeared in Lincoln Square earlier in the week. The message, as delivered by CTU’s Michael Brunson and echoed by many others, was clear: “White supremacy hurts us all”.

Labor unions provided a notable amount of speakers, with SEIU, National Nurses United and the Chicago Teachers Union represented on the platform. Also speaking were Jewish Voice for Peace, Fight for Fifteen, Access Living, Adapt, BYP 100, R3 and Indivisible, among others. Nearly everyone sought to remind the crowd of the importance of solidarity, that they were stronger together, and that their beliefs were overpowering the other side.

“The biggest political phenomenon today is the shift towards left ideas”, said Tara Brown, from Socialist Alternative.

In the streets marching to Trump Tower, the crowd continued the chants organizers had started in the beginning of the rally, and added a new one: “Say it loud, say it clear, Nazis are not welcome here.” When the group amassed at the sidewalk in front of Trump Tower, SEIU’s Jaquie Algee took a look at the crowd, and said it reminded her of the civil rights movement.