Those who consider 2008 a period of major upheaval should look back to the events leading up to the 1968 Democratic National Convention to see the real deal. On March 31, the increasing unpopularity of the Vietnam War compelled Lyndon Johnson to opt out of running for re-election. On April 4, Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in Memphis; race riots followed in 110 U.S. cities, including Chicago. Two months later, presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. This violence and uncertainty left the nation angry about its present and scared for its future, rendering the DNC in Chicago—August 26–29 at the International Amphitheater on Halsted and 43rd Streets—ripe for conflict.

The convention was the first major political event to follow the turbulent summer, and more than 100 antiwar groups saw it as an opportunity to protest the war. Youth activist groups such as the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE), the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Youth International Party (Yippies) especially opposed the draft.

Mayor Richard J. Daley had set a militaristic precedent when he instructed police to “shoot to kill” during the MLK riots on the West Side four months earlier. As he became aware of the countercultural presence planned for the DNC, Daley put police on grueling 12-hour shifts to monitor the protesters congregating in Lincoln Park.

The violence began before the convention did. On August 22, police killed a 17-year-old protester on North Wells Street who was allegedly waving a gun. Word spread among the activists, and the protests became a backlash against authority; police, ill-equipped to handle thousands of dissidents, became the focus of their wrath. The violence escalated exponentially on August 24. Police armed with tear gas and billy clubs attacked protesters who stayed in Lincoln Park after the 11pm curfew; protesters retaliated by throwing rocks. In hopes of scattering police to prevent mass arrests, roughly 2,000 marchers—led by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg chanting the peace mantra “ohm”—took to the streets of Old Town. The next day, the 5,000 people who turned out to see the band MC5 again threw rocks at police, who wouldn’t allow a flatbed truck to be used as a stage. When a rumored 10,000 protesters joined MOBE’s antiwar rally on August 28 at the Grant Park bandshell, police snipers perched atop the Field Museum.

The official tally of 589 arrests—and injuries estimated at 119 for police and 100 for protesters—has since been disputed. Perhaps Daley himself, defending his choices at a press conference after the riots, provided the most fitting coda when he accidentally said: “The police are not here to create disorder. They are here to maintain disorder.”

We may have a (kinder, gentler) Daley in office and we’re again mired in war, but as the 40th anniversary of the 1968 DNC approaches, Chicago is a different place. It’s hard to imagine thousands of youths motivated by one cause taking Lincoln Park by storm, but plenty of organizations still fight hard for their causes. In this issue, we reminisce with local ’68 protesters about what called them to action; take a look at the organizations carrying the activist torch today; talk to Chicagoans about what issues get them hot under the collar; and explore ways to build a better protest.

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