Friday’s demonstration was a planned protest of the killing of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old black Chicago resident who was shot 16 times by a white police officer in October 2014.
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Demonstrators stood shoulder to shoulder in a cold drizzling rain to turn the traditional start of the holiday shopping season on Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile into a high-profile platform from which to deliver their message: The killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald – captured on a squad-car video made public earlier this week – was another example of what they say is the systemic disregard police show for the lives and rights of black people.
On Tuesday, after an investigation that lasted over a year, former Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of McDonald. Jackson said he met with Rush and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis as well as activists, and they too sought a U.S. Justice Department inquiry into the police’s handling of the McDonald shooting, according to the Chicago Tribune.
About two dozen protesters chanted No iPhones today! “I think the protest is effective, and very important, but they shouldn’t disturb other people”. Security guards persuaded shoppers to use an unobvious back door to get in. Eight did so at the entrance to the Ralph Lauren store. He said he and his family would return later.
“You shut down money, then people make a difference”, activist Chicago Catholic priest Father Michael Pfleghar said.
The man kept leading chants as the local protesters took off, leaving only those with Anonymous masks and revcom.us shirts remaining outside the station. North Michigan Avenue is one of the largest shopping attractions in the Midwest and hosts many flagship stores, hotels and luxury brands.
It seemed to be pretty peaceful, Howard said.
Lane and Debbie Barnett, who own a real-estate company in East Lansing, Michigan, walked out of Apple Store after spending about $1,200 in about 15 minutes. In several instances, they harassed shoppers and store employees.
Jackson said his group is planning on protesting on State Street on some unspecified future date. It didnt bother us.
“We need bold comprehensive change in the police department and the criminal justice system”, Jackson said during a news conference at his Rainbow PUSH headquarters. The Reverend Marshall Hatch, chairman of the Leaders Network of Chicago, told ABC7 Eyewitness News Friday morning that Laquan McDonald’s death affected many people in Chicago’s neighborhoods and they want the rest of the city to see how.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez weren’t immediately available for comment Friday.
“Police departments and police unions have used this support to their advantage by creating the narrative of such controversial events and by counting on the support of colleagues who were eyewitnesses as well as the mass media”, said Themis Chronopoulos, a lecturer in American history and culture at the University of East Anglia.
An association representing hundreds of high-end retailers, hotels and restaurants in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile district says it’s confident authorities will maintain order for thousands of Black Friday shoppers as groups protest a 2014 police shooting.
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Some of the protest leaders on Michigan Avenue suggested that a strategy of boycotts and blocking stores may be more effective than riots like those that occurred in places such as Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore after similar shootings.
