May 23

May 23 Remembering

Chicago, Demonstrations, Parades, Performance, Public Declarations

Memorial Day is officially commemorated on the last Monday in May, but Chicago holds its annual Memorial Day ceremony and parade on the preceding Saturday. Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson, representatives from the military, and other dignitaries gathered in Daley Plaza at 11:00 AM for speeches and the laying of a wreath at the eternal flame that burns on the east side of the plaza.

During the ceremony, four high school students received honors for their outstanding service as members of the Junior ROTC program. They were Gabino Noriega (Lane Tech High School), William Foley (Marine Leadership Academy), Leiana McLendon (Morgan Park High School), and Miles Gonzalez (Phoenix Military Academy).

Among others, Mayor Johnson paid tribute to those in the military who have died over the last 250 years fighting for our freedom. Johnson made no news when delivering his remarks, but he did an excellent job of honoring the fallen. His deep baritone voice and flawless delivery always impress me.

Politicians and the public are quick to praise the men and women who serve in the nation’s armed forces, but few bothered to turn out today. Nearly half the seats in Daley Plaza for the ceremony were empty. I didn’t walk the entire parade route, but where I had positioned myself (the corner of Lake and Dearborn), there were significant gaps between the spectators standing behind the bicycle rack barricades. The Chicago Sun-Times described the crowd as being in the “hundreds,” which means the number was not within striking distance of 1,000 people. The imagery was hardly breathtaking given that those attending were spread over eight blocks, beginning at Wacker Drive and ending at Van Buren.

I was particularly struck by the absence of politicians. State representatives, city alderpersons, and the city’s congressional delegation were largely absent. Given Memorial Day ceremonies and parades throughout metro-Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, many politicians may have attended other events, but they certainly weren’t visible in the city’s parade.

To a certain extent, the public’s lack of enthusiasm is understandable. Chicago is hardly the bastion of militarism, but a parade modeled after Russia’s annual show of militarism in Moscow would draw a lot more people. Imagine tank brigades and gigantic missiles rolling down Dearborn, with rows of soldiers carrying guns goose-stepping as they marched along the parade route.

Probably the most threatening vehicle in the parade was the Chicago Police Department’s armored SWAT response truck. When it rolled past, I thought to myself, “I certainly wouldn’t want that thing rolling up to my apartment building.” In addition to the SWAT vehicle, three or four battered Humvees joined the parade.

While photographers prefer more robust militarism, such a spectacle would draw hundreds, if not thousands of anti-war demonstrators. Not exactly a response that is desired when honoring those who died while defending their country. In total, I saw one demonstrator today. He was wearing a green cardboard box over his head, with no signage, so he might simply have been a weirdo rather than a demonstrator. Unfortunately, he disappeared before I could open my camera bag.

By and large, the parade serves as a showcase for the Chicago Public School’s JROTC program, which according to the program’s website,

is a leadership and life-skills engine housed inside CPS, not a military recruitment pipeline. Our program is framed as a postsecondary launchpad—college, career, or military—rooted in equity, CPS alignment, and high-quality instruction.

We pride ourselves on being a leadership development program that builds confident, capable young adults—prepared for college, careers, and military pathways through character, discipline, and real-world experience.

At least 15 high schools were represented in the parade, with students from each high school dressed in matching outfits. For the most part, the students were not dressed in formal military attire, but rather in polo shirts and dark pants, with slight variations among the groups.

The parade was short on brass marching bands. The most notable one being the Lakeside Pride Marching Band, which was preceded by a group of “rainbow flag” twirlers. The band was dressed in elegant blue and white uniforms.

Groups of Korean and Chinese veterans also added color to the procession. The Chinese carried a gigantic horizontal flag, while the Koreans displayed a blue and red color scheme. Given Chicago’s large Irish, Italian, and Polish communities, I was surprised not to see veterans’ groups from those communities. No doubt some marchers were from local American Legion posts, but only saw one or two references to such posts.

Fortunately, the weather was perfect, with the sun nicely illuminating the marchers. After the last two months of bone-chilling temperatures, everyone enjoyed the sun’s rays and rising temperatures.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]