Democratic National Convention Day 1: ‘America was never great’: First day of convention marked by Pro-Palestinian Protests

Photo by Laura Nwogu/The Atlanta VoiceCHICAGO – Anger. Frustration. Weary. As thousands of people from all over the country and the world gathered at Union Park in Chicago on Monday to march against the Democratic National Convention (DNC), those were the common feelings rumbling through the fervent crowd. “Are you planning to vote in the upcoming election?” Nearly every person The Atlanta Voice asked had one answer: “No.”Sheila Williams sat in a wheelchair sheltered under a tent as protesters marched down Washington Boulevard. Pinned on either side of her jacket were mini flyers declaring that “the whole damn system’s got to go,” and to “stop following the bourgeois electoral bullsh*t.”“At my age, I should be at home in a rocking chair, but here I am with my walker out here to say, enough is enough,” Williams said. “All these people out here in the streets today that are protesting about racism, protesting about abortion rights, protesting about genocide, protesting about police brutality, protesting about so many things that are elements of this system. America was never great.”Over 200 organizations formed the coalition that sought to have their demands heard on the first day of the DNC. Among those organizations were...