A few Chicago LGBTQ+ groups will march toward the Trump Tower on Inauguration Day to protest the war in Gaza and mass deportations, among a slew of other social justice issues.
The People’s March for Justice will begin at noon Jan. 20 at Water Tower Park at the corner of Chicago and Michigan avenues. More than 50 organizations will march from there to Trump Tower while another group of protesters will converge there from the south.
Among those participating in the protest are the Gay Liberation Network, Dyke Night Chicago and Stop Trans Genocide.
“The two central issues that we are marching on are the slaughter in Gaza and to demand no deportations,” Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, said during a Jan. 16 press conference.
The protest will happen days after Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal that will halt the war in Gaza and provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians while reuniting hostages with their families.
Activists at the Jan. 16 protest celebrated the agreement, but said their protest will send a message of solidarity with Gaza as it looks to rebuild after the war’s end.
“Every meter of Gaza bears the marks of devastation, and rebuilding will be a long and arduous journey,” said Rama, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement who declined to share her last name. “The United States is complicit in funding and facilitating this genocide and could have ended the bloodshed months ago. … We must ensure that these systems of oppression never have the opportunity to inflict such war again.”
Karla Reyes, of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said the protest will also take a stand against Trump’s deportation plans.
Reyes, a second-generation immigrant whose family is from El Salvador, said people from all background need to come together to fight Trump’s immigration policies.
“People like me, who have been living here for a long time and grew up here, and folks who are Asian, Black, gay and straight—whatever it is—need to unite in solidarity with our immigrant family to fight back against deportation, because when they come for one of us, then they come for all of us,” Reyes said.
Other demands include an end to the attacks on women and
LGBTQ+ people, including on gender-affirming care and abortion rights, according to the organizers’ list of demands. They are also calling for federal legislation to prevent employment and housing discrimination.
The protesters are also calling for an end to the U.S. war machine, police brutality, state repression and attacks on workers rights. They are also calling for taxes on the rich to fund social services, action to address climate change and reparations.
“There are many demands from various organizations—from reproductive rights to LGBTQ+ [issues] to any number of labor organizations—that are marching on Monday,” Thayer said.