WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul
Lake County News-Sun
By Charlie Adelman
July 16, 2008
Nearly 20 walkers began their 52-day trek from downtown Chicago to St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday in protest of the war in Iraq.
Put together by the Voices for Creative Nonviolence program, the group assembled the walk to show the connection between the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the forthcoming Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
“Both parties have been willing to pour billions of dollars into these wars,” said marcher Lauren Cannon.
During the walk, Cannon said, they plan to stop at “three points along the way” to protest further.
Although the walk spans 450 miles and will take approximately seven weeks, Cannon said it doesn’t bother her.
“It’s sort of a small sacrifice on our part to be displaced and away from our families,” she said, adding that more than 4 million families have been displaced in Iraq in comparison.
Along the way, churches, schools and justice groups will be lending their support, providing shelter and food for the marchers.
Despite plenty of support, the group is still prepared to face some challenges.
“We are prepared to encounter all sorts of reactions,” said Cannon. “We do get into some rough parts after North Chicago. It is sort of disarming when you walk into a new town.”
On Tuesday, the protestors marched through North Chicago and Waukegan on the way to Zion.
However, the group faced one of their first hiccups when they reached the city of North Chicago.
“The North Chicago police disallowed us to walk through with our signs,” said participant Dan Pearson. “They cited us with a code, which apparently does exist.”
Pearson said they “normally would have challenged this,” but decided to comply and marched through North Chicago without their signs.
Cannon said she remains positive about the peace walk.
“It’s amazing how many people have come forward to support this,” she said.
