Over the weekend, the Chronicle reported that thousands gathered near Columbia’s campus to protest the Trump administration’s threats to send the National Guard to Chicago and increase immigration enforcement. Listen to the sounds our journalists heard from the streets.
Transcript:
0:06: Welcome to Chronicle Reports, the podcast that takes you behind the headlines and inside the story.
0:12: I’m your host, Sydney Richardson.
0:26: On Saturday evening, the Chronicle reported thousands of people assembled at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive
0:33: to protest the Trump administration’s plan to deploy the National Guard to Chicago and expand immigration enforcement.
0:42: President Donald Trump has made several public comments about his intentions of sending the National Guard to Chicago to address violent crime, which has decreased 24% since last year, according to data from the mayor’s office.
0:57: The federal government has also expanded its ICE and Homeland Security operations in the Chicagoland area, authorizing Naval Station Great Lakes to be used as a logistical hub.
1:08: The protest was led by the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights.
1:16: Aram Han Sifuentes of the HANA Center, a Korean American nonprofit organization, was among the community leaders that gave a speech before the crowd marched through the streets of downtown Chicago.
1:31: The government has tried to silence us before, and silence is a form of pre-compliance, but are we going to stay silent?
1:42: Let me ask that again, are we going to be silent?
1:49: Let’s make sure they hear us loud and clear.
1:52: Are we going to be silent?
2:00: We will not be silent because we refuse to believe in the lies.
2:04: This was never about public safety.
2:06: We create safety when we use our tax dollars to build affordable housing, good schools and a sustainable future for all people.
2:18: As the crowd moved through the streets, protesters held signs and banners and waved American, Mexican and Palestinian flags.
2:26: Protesters engaged in a variety of chants in both English and Spanish.
2:49: Check out the Columbia Chronicle online for the latest stories and more behind-the-scenes looks at our journalism.
2:56: I’m Sydney Richardson.
2:58: Thanks for listening.
Copy edited by Vanessa Orozco
