Report from March 18: 12,000 Protest in Chicago!

www.ChicagoANSWER.net

On March 18, 2006 in Chicago 12,000 people participated in a day of coordinated actions that included feeder marches to a rally in Union Park and a large, militant march down Michigan Avenue at night.

ANSWER Chicago started the day off with a spirited convergence on Federal Plaza and a feeder march to the main rally at Union Park. Along the route to Union Park the Federal Plaza feeder march joined up with the student feeder march. People came to Federal Plaza from Indiana, Wisconsin and all over Illinois. Feeder marches poured into Union Park from communities all over the city, including a feeder march from the Puerto Rican community that included strong Filipino, Palestinian and Mexican contingents.

The march down Michigan Avenue at night on March 18th was a hard-won victory for the anti-war movement in Chicago . A permit was obtained from the city for the march after a years long battle for the right to march down Chicago's main street. Despite a heavy police presence, thousands of people poured onto Michigan Avenue. Tens of thousands of police were deployed in riot gear to line the street and completely surround the demonstration for its entire length. In response, loud chants of "The Streets Belong to the People!" rang out throughout the march.

ANSWER Chicago had a vibrant contingent in the Michigan Avenue march. One of the ANSWER banners read: "End Colonial Occupation! Iraq, Palestine, Haiti, ...;U.S. Hands off Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, the Philippines ...!" ANSWER Chicago distributed hundreds of bright orange placards that said, "Fund People's Needs, Not War; U.S. Out of Iraq!"

Front of the Michigan Avenue march

Click here for the ANSWER-Chicago website