Protesters to target Chicago shopping area on Black Friday

Chicago, Nov 26: Small groups of demonstrators gathered again to protest the death of a black teen shot by a white police officer, and they urged supporters to join them in trying to shut down Chicago's famous Michigan Avenue shopping district on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

About two dozen protesters yesterday gathered outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel's City Hall office on the day after authorities released a graphic squad-car video showing the officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times.

The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was charged with first-degree murder. The group held banners showing photos of other black people fatally shot by police in Chicago and elsewhere. Several protesters said they were parents of black men who were killed by Chicago officers.

"You cannot kill our children and expect us to be quiet any longer," protester Quovadis Green said. "It is unacceptable."

A number of police killings of black men over the past year have given rise to the nationwide "Black Lives Matter" movement, pushing the issue to prominence in the midst of the 2016 presidential campaign. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton weighed in yesterday, saying McDonald's family and Chicago residents "deserve justice and accountability."

Clinton, who made the comments yesterday in an emailed statement, added that police officers across the country are doing their duty honorably "without resorting to unnecessary force.

"One of Clinton's rivals, Sen Bernie Sanders, said in his own statement that all Americans "should be sickened" by the video.

Activist Mark Carter called on people to "rise up" and shut down the Magnificent Mile shopping area on Friday -- the day after the Thanksgiving holiday when shoppers traditionally flock to stores to take advantage of discounts.

He said protesters also planned to target the Board of Trade and other landmarks in the coming days. Carter and others want the Department of Justice to investigate the Chicago Police Department and its history of covering up bad behavior.

PTI