Memories of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago haunt 2024

When the Democrats chose Chicago for their 2024 convention, many people were left scratching their heads.

After all, Illinois is not a swing state where conventions typically take place. Moreover, Chicago is arguably where the most catastrophic DNC in history was held, characterised by violence, chaos, and a weak Democratic candidate who lost in a landslide, ushering in an era of decades-long conservatism.

The party leaders are now faced with striking similarities from six decades ago.

In 1968, the Democrats contended with mass demonstrations over their support for the unpopular Vietnam War, which ended with a US death toll of around 58,000. Their incumbent president was pressured to drop out, only to step aside for a vice president whose policies were too closely aligned with the administration in which he had served, leading to his defeat.

Back then, it was President Lyndon B. Johnson who resigned as his vice president Hubert Humphrey ran for president. In 2024, it is Joe Biden who has handed the burden of an unpopular war to his vice president Kamala Harris, as she tries to unite a fractured party.

At the convention in Chicago, violence erupted on the streets when police clashed with anti-war protesters, killing one young activist and injuring more than 500, in addition to more than 100 other civilians, including journalists, and with more than 150 law enforcement officials injured. The convention floor also saw its share of chaos, with the mayor bringing in police to the convention hall to attack delegates and journalists.

Though not everything is the same as in 1968, there are enough similarities that the Democrats have the opportunity to learn from that era.

The Democrats in Chicago in 1968: 'The whole world is watching'

When the Democratic Party announced Chicago as their convention site on 8 October 1967, many thought it would be a safe choice, with most political activity of the civil rights era centred in the South and the anti-war student protests being led at Columbia University in New York.

At Columbia, students staged sit-ins and occupied university buildings for extended periods while voicing their demands that their institution cut ties with organisations linked with the war. They were also protesting a university building development that would have infringed on the space of locals in a historically Black neighbourhood.

It is difficult to imagine any city in the US being a calm place in late 1968. By the time the DNC had gotten underway, civil rights leader Reverand Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated in April in Memphis, and presumptive Democratic nominee Robert F. Kennedy had been assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where he and his supporters were celebrating him winning the California Democratic primary. Three years earlier, civil rights leader Malcolm X had been assassinated in New York City.

For Paul Beck, a professor of political science at Ohio State University, the Democratic convention was an opportunity to do research for his graduate degree. He travelled from nearby Michigan to Chicago, where he had planned to interview delegates. When he arrived, he saw the streets filled with police officers in full riot gear.

"I realised pretty quickly that there was going to be violence. The police looked quite grim and Mayor [Richard] Daley was very supportive of the war," he tells The New Arab, recalling the first two days of the convention before the large-scale violence broke out mid-week. The mayor had publicly instructed the police to shoot to kill the arsons and shoot to maim the looters.

"I think it was built into a confrontation. The demonstrators seemed very peaceful," he recalls. After the convention, a 400-page report led by Illinois-based attorney Daniel Walker called 'Rights in Conflict' confirmed that the riots were largely police-instigated.

Later that year, he says he participated in an anti-war march in Washington, DC, which drew people from across the country. Like many, he was personally affected by the war with the loss of a close friend and a cousin in Vietnam. He remembers there being not much of a police presence in Washington and the march remained relatively calm.

"It was a different city. Mayor Daley was a strong supporter of the war and wanted to put demonstrators in their place," he recalls.

At the peak of the anti-war protests on the third day of the 1968 DNC, Americans watched on live TV as blood flowed in the streets of Chicago and protesters chanted "The whole world is watching!"

Many student protesters later said they did not end up casting their vote in the general election between two candidates who both supported the Vietnam War.

The Democrats in Chicago in 2024

The Democrats announced their choice of Chicago to hold their 2024 convention on 13 October 2023. This was less than a week after Hamas had attacked Israel, killing more than 1,100. By then, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza had already left around 300,000 Palestinians homeless. 

At that point, it was clear that Israel's response in Gaza would be disproportionate and lengthy, as student-led protests quickly emerged amid warnings by aid groups of an imminent humanitarian crisis.

Though many people who have compared the two conventions have pointed out that the war in Vietnam was far more personal for most Americans, with the threat of being drafted to Vietnam causing daily anxiety for almost all families, it's possible that the political establishment underestimated Americans' concern for Gaza.

As Israel's war in Gaza escalated over the spring, few US campuses were untouched by the anti-war movement. Like in 1968, Columbia was one of the main leaders in the anti-war movement.

There might not have been the threat of the draft in 2024, but for many Americans with ties to the Middle East, particularly in Michigan, with one of the highest concentrations of Arabs and Muslims in the US, the war has hit home just as strongly.

Showing their disapproval of Biden at the ballot box, with the uncommitted bloc earning the state two delegates at the convention, as well as delegates from several other states, and staging regular demonstrations against the war, many of these activists believe they were an important reason for Biden stepping down from the race. At this year's convention, they will continue to work to make their voices heard.

"We're negotiating now on how to have those views heard," James Zogby, a veteran pollster and president of the Arab American Institute, told TNA. "We've been pushing for Palestinian voices and for the issue of a ceasefire to be heard. The campaign has been responsive. We'll see how it goes. It's not like in '68 when there was no space to speak."

One thing that's clear is that the Democrats are holding their convention in the US city with the highest concentration of Palestinians who are determined to be heard at the convention. 

Palestinians in Chicago

Over the last several decades, Chicago has become the US metro area with the highest concentration of Palestinians. This has made it not only a cultural hub for the community but also a centre for activism, which will be on full display at the DNC.

Palestinians have a long history in the Chicago area, though their numbers didn't become substantial until the late 1960s with the influx of refugees from the 1967 war and with the easing of immigration restrictions in the mid-1960s.

As social unrest in the late 1960s led to "white flight" in many US cities, including Chicago, many Palestinians moved to and brought new life to areas from which others were fleeing. This led to many Palestinians living alongside Blacks and other disadvantaged communities, many of whom eventually formed civil rights coalitions.

As more Palestinians settled in Chicagoland, they became a major part of the workforce that supported local industries. Many worked at the local Nabisco factory and Brach's Candy.

"There's a rich history of Palestinians organising in Chicago," Muhammad Sankari, a Chicago-based member of the US Palestinian Community Network, told The New Arab. "We're part of that rich tradition. It makes our work all the more real and tangible to be organising in Chicago."

Though Palestinians have become a significant community in the Chicago area, they haven't reached the level of political representation of Dearborn with the likes of Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and US Representative Rashida Tlaib. Chicago had its first Palestinian elected state representative Abdelnasser Rashid in 2022.

However, Palestinians in Chicago have been instrumental over the years in organising for progressive movements, particularly for Black candidates.

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Palestinian activists in Chicago have been organising across different communities to make their voices heard, something they plan on doing on the first day of the convention in a massive march. With less than a week until the DNC, they are continuing to negotiate with the city over protest permits.

Can the Democrats learn from 1968?

The Democrats revised their rules after 1968, changing to an open convention format with more transparency as a way to end backroom deals in smoke-filled rooms. Probably the biggest lesson for Democrats from 1968 is to not have the police use excessive force on protesters.

Eyebrows were raised several days ago when the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department warned that they wouldn't accept any riots. This statement struck some organisers as odd, given that Palestinians in Chicago have been leading largely peaceful protests for the last 10 months.

"How ridiculous to say that someone is planning to riot. The city and the right wing only have to listen to what the organisers are saying," said Sankari. "We know what we want to accomplish with this mass march."

In general, there is no expectation of major violence at the DNC, particularly with the current mayor Brandon Johnson, who came into politics through his involvement in civil rights demonstrations. 

However, there is always the danger of tensions flaring, particularly with the high number of out-of-state police and protesters converging in one place. At last month's Republican convention, a police officer from Ohio shot and killed a local man, leading to demonstrations and questions over law enforcement coming from outside the area.

Another question based on the outcome of 1968 is whether the Democratic Party will allow Palestinians to make their voices heard. And will the new candidate offer a sufficiently different platform from the previous candidate who was pressured to step down?

These are issues that continue to haunt the Democratic Party six decades on as they prepare to visit the site of their trauma next week. The whole world is watching. 

Brooke Anderson is The New Arab's correspondent in Washington DC, covering US and international politics, business, and culture.

Follow her on Twitter: @Brookethenews