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Protesters gathered outside Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s house to demand justice for Laquan McDonald and an end to the ethnic cleansing of Chicago vis-à-vis gentrification on Oct. 20, the anniversary of McDonald’s murder by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke.
The event, organized by the People’s Congress of Resistance, ANSWER Chicago and Black Lives Matter Women of Faith, gathered in front of Mayor Emanuel’s Ravenswood home in response to the $2.25 billion bid for an Amazon headquarters in the city of Chicago.
Despite what the city’s political and economic elites may say, an Amazon headquarters would not benefit the vast majority of Chicagoans. In fact, it would disproportionately impact Chicago’s Black community just as it has in Seattle, where recently an ordinance was passed to prevent the city’s racist landlords from prioritizing tech workers over working class families.
The protest started off with militant chants of, “16 Shots and a Cover Up!” and “No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police!” Before the speakers started, protesters took a knee in front of the mayor’s house to express solidarity with the movement against racist police terror.
John Beacham, Coordinator of ANSWER Chicago, opened up the evening by explaining what exactly an Amazon headquarters would mean for Chicago’s Black community.
“We just had to be at Rahm’s house on the anniversary of Laquan’s lynching. We are also here because the city is gearing up to possibly give billions of dollars to a corporation that’s going to escalate a gentrification that will disproportionately impact the Black community of Chicago,” Beacham said.
Elias Rodriguez from the Party for Socialism and Liberation argued that the murder of Laquan McDonald and the Chicago bid for an Amazon headquarters are not two separate issues, but rather they are both connected.
https://liberationnews.org/chicago-demands-justice-laquan-not-money-amazon/