Chicago protestors looted businesses to protest the murder of George Floyd. This happened over a few nights immediately following his murder. Chicago has had an innumerable number of protests following the death of Floyd on May 25, 2020.
The protests have continued for months and plan to continue as well. Many major cities have had large movements such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York. Many protests are completely peaceful but some are more than that.
Currently, the troops in Portland, Oregon are being exposed to the amount of force they use against protestors unnecessarily and in many places, businesses have been looted empty.
Chicago’s downtown is one of the areas that got hit the hardest. While there was protesting and looting all over the city, downtown was a hotspot for it.
Businesses boarded up their windows to prevent them from being smashed, and those that had already been looted sprayed “looted empty” on the wood in their windows. Many businesses have yet to reopen after the looting downtown, but many are also getting back on their feet. Although the movement has not slowed, it seems the looting has.
Following the protests, riots and, looting, the police closed many of the access points to downtown on August 10. Even traping protestors inside the downtown area. They halted public transportation into downtown and closed off the highway exits. People on social media quickly came to help protestors by explaining what was closed down.
90/94 (Kennedy and Dan Ryan) exits into downtown CLOSED between Division and Roosevelt. I-55 CLOSED King Dr to LSD. CTA not operating in and out of downtown from Fullerton to Cermak to Ashland.
Chicago’s downtown has reopened since then, but protests still occur. Though their effect seems minimal and no real change has occurred, to better the lives of Blacks in America.
Written by Joseph Nelson
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Source:
NBC: Widespread damage reported in downtown Chicago after night of looting
Featured Image Courtesy of Chad Davis’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Brian Johnson & Dane Kantner’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
