9:50 a.m. Soldiers, children, communists with Marxist Times tucked under their arms
10:15 a.m. Reverend Jesse Jackson arrives
10:20 a.m. More protestors begin filing in, including ACLU observers, Queers Against NATO, Green Party.
10:26 a.m. Clownbloq arrives on Jackson chanting “FUCK NATO!”
10:28 a.m. Afghans For Peace talk with ABC Chicago
10:37 a.m. Demonstrators take refuge in the shade, unsure of when the march is scheduled to take place.
10:40 a.m. I talk with Mark McMahon, an artist based in Lake Forest, IL. He was hired by University of Chicago’s magazine to create charcoal drawings depicting the protests, part of a spread that will hit the web on Wednesday. McMahon is surprised that so many protestors are harbored in the shade, leaving the grand Petrillo Music Shell nearly barren. “In the 60s we’d all be out there. Now they’re all just standing in the shade,” McMahon said in a biting tone.
11:00 a.m. Music begins and people begin gathering around the stage, but the sound system quickly shorts out. A couple living in the South Loop observes the protestors all sitting comfortably in the shade. “If I were really passionate about a cause, I’d be out there burning in the sun,” she said. “I look at your generation and I feel so terrible. You all have the right to be angry.”
11:05 a.m. A Chicago-based anarchist group is handing out bandanas in the event that police use pepper spray on demonstrators. These “survival kits” are met with gratitude by fellow protestors. “We’re just hoping for the best but expecting the worst,” the anarchist said.
11:23 a.m. Iraq veterans march with Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello’s band of activist musicians. The veterans trail them chanting “Obama-bama can’t you see what the NATO’s done to me?”
11:30 a.m. Because of the malfunctioning sound system, Morello must compensate by asking protestors to repeat after him. He begins each statement by screaming “mic check,” and continues to introduce his arsenal of protest songs, including “Worldwide Rebel Song,” and “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills and Nash.
12:00 p.m. Morello and Co. (including Tim McIlrath of Rise Against) assemble with veterans to march. Rap duo Rebel Diaz takes the stage with the fixed sound system.
12:30 p.m. Speaker from Episcopal Peace Fellowship says, “Let’s recommit ourselves to a world without militarization and economic injustice.”
12:37 p.m. Reverend Jesse Jackson speaks with press behind the Petrillo Band Shell. He is a man that looms over bystanders with his impressive height, clad in all black, except for his Rainbow PUSH Coalition pin. “We are spending too much on unnecessary wars and not enough on healthcare and education reform.” He also added his opinion on NATO, “NATO’s mission was more clear-cut-stop Soviet expansion, stop Germany from rising up again militarily. We’ve achieved that, now it’s time for redefinition.”
Reverend Jackson also discussed the importance of the youth’s active participation in politics. “Students have real power. Use that vote to be a juror, to elect prosecutors, to elect representatives, to elect sheriffs, to elect judges. Use that power to elect governors, to elect presidents. Marching is a form of power, voting is a form of power. Use all of these forms of power to achieve our purpose,” he said.
1:00 p.m. Demonstrators playing music in the shade, speakers continue at Petrillo Music Shell.
1:46 p.m. Protest groups assemble on Jackson and Columbus. Officers line the streets, leaving a barely-man-sized hole between each officer. Calls for revolution and bucket drumming clutter the air.
2:00 p.m. The march begins, heading west down Jackson.
2:07 p.m. Veterans lead the march west on Jackson. Protestors separate themselves from bystanders and police with yellow rope. “We don’t work for you no more! No NATO, no war,” they chant.
2:17 p.m. Led by a trolley filled with photographers and videographers and two Chicago Police trucks, protestors cross Michigan Ave.
2:21 p.m. Due to running ahead of schedule, protestors pause and slow pace at Jackson and Wabash. “The citizens run the city today,” a bystander remarks. “This just goes to show that the people still have the power.”
2:32 p.m. Protestors head east on Harrison and are met with police officers on bikes.
2:40 p.m. Protestors head south down Michigan Ave., police officers continue to walk alongside protestors as officers on bikes trail the march. Officers fully dressed in riot gear stand on cement traffic medians and loom over the crowd.
2:50 p.m. Protestors begin to chant, “Troops need healthcare, no more warfare! Police need healthcare, no more warfare!”