Tent city continues BLM discrepAncies along dan ryan in media coverage by Kenny Adusa
Black Lives Matter has issued a research paper arguing unfair media coverage, with “five lessons” stemming from its July 17 attempt to take down the Christopher Columbus statue south of Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. ``We have to be our own media,” BLM said in its first lesson. “The media coverage of the Grant Park action often directly contradicted the on-the-ground reports we collected from protestors.” CBS reports reviewed online showed that only four people were injured. Fox and NBC omitted this information. Their reports talked more about the police officers there than the protesters. A second lesson, said BLM, was that “Physical harm done to protestors will always be underreported: “63.9% of survey respondents reported that they were injured -- far more notable than the “four people” some news sources reported as hospitalized.” BLM’s third point was that CPD used “a range of chemical weapons for which there is little public information:” specifically, pepper spray. This lack of transparency, the activists said, made it hard for people to know how to treat their symptoms. CBS 2 broadcasts showed the use of pepper spray, people in pain and some gasping for air in the heat. Their fourth point was that being peaceful did not protect them from violence. This contradicts their statement because the protesters were seen trying to take down the statue. Their final point was that “Being peaceful” will not protect protesters from unrestrained violence. As a depiction of the man who “discovered America,” the statue had drawn fire from people of color and descendants of indigenous people who were already living here in 1492. The statue was later removed and the Grant Park Advisory Council Committee on Art, Monuments and Markers (formed before the protest) hosted a Zoom meeting September 8 to determine whether it would be returned, removed permanently, relocated, recontextualized or replaced. Comments were due September 25. www.streetwise.org
FROM THE STREETS
The Tent City alongside the Dan Ryan expressway at Ruble Street/ Roosevelt Road will remain until next spring, amid ongoing work on the Jane Byrne interchange -- and the pandemic, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. “We are in communication with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless regarding concerns for the onset of winter, capacity of shelters in the region, along with pandemic related issues,” IDOT Public Information Officer Maria Castaneda said October 29. “Before any work occurs in that area, we will coordinate work with the City of Chicago along with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless to ensure everyone’s safety.” The encampment is home to roughly 30 people, and has access to a portapotty on Desplaines Street. Concerned that IDOT work would force them to move, Tent City residents and advocates chanted, “Give us a home or leave us alone,” at a rally on October 20. The Roosevelt Road Tent City was among four encampments that met October 24 to form a Chicago chapter of the National Union of the Homeless. Others represented were at Lawrence Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, 51st Street and Wentworth Avenue and 43rd Street and Western Avenue. - Photos and story by Suzanne Hanney
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