Stages, tents and portable toilets are one thing; handheld microphones and simple speakers are another.
Some activists are upset that the city won’t let protesters set up sound equipment in Union Park, where they had planned to begin a protest march with motivational speeches at what has been deemed their official point of assembly. Upset enough to file a petition in U.S. District Court Wednesday, claiming the ban violates their constitutional rights.
The Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention might be surprised to know we are on their side on this one.
The city, via the Chicago Park District, has provided (after long sitting on its hands) a variety of security and logistical reasons to prohibit temporary structures in the park close to the United Center. Fair enough. But Union Park is the official point of departure for some protest marchers and people have the right to peaceably assemble there and to give speeches.
Granted, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass didn’t need sound reinforcement to be heard, but that was a different era of vocal cords and attuned ears. To give a speech today that can be heard by a big crowd of people, you need a microphone and at least a modest amplification system. And what’s a protest march without a stirring oratorial kickoff?
The city should back down, compromise and allow for that in Union Park.
Remember, this is the Democratic National Convention.
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