Activists plan to again disrupt shopping along Chicago's Magnificent Mile on Black Friday.
The demonstration, spearheaded by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, is seeking more police accountability and protesting how police shootings that sparked last year's protests have been handled.
"We want justice for all those who've been victimized by police crimes in this city," Frank Chapman, a field organizer with the group, said Wednesday.
Last year on Black Friday, hundreds of activists marched along Chicago's highest-profile retail street, urging a shopping boycott to protest the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, by a white Chicago police officer.
Protesters temporarily blocked customers from entering some stores, and some retailers decided to close early. A handful of merchants said sales were 25 to 50 percent below expectations on what is typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
This year, activists plan to gather on the north end of North Michigan Avenue at 10 a.m. Friday before walking north and south on the west side of the street, Chapman said.
"We want to discourage people from shopping on the Mag Mile," Chapman said. "We're sending a message to the mayor and his supporters and the Mag Mile that we want CPAC enacted," he added, referring to a proposal to create an elected Civilian Police Accountability Council to oversee the department.
While not organized in opposition to President-elect Donald Trump, "We'd proudly take on (the anti-Trump) banner," he said.
It's unclear whether this year's protest will have a similar effect on retailers' Black Friday business, said Magnificent Mile Association President John Chikow.
"People have a right to say what they want to say," Chikow said. "We just hope everybody respects others' rights to be able to do what they need to do."
Managers at some Michigan Avenue stores declined to comment on the record on Tuesday, saying they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Water Tower Place "incorporates a 24/7 safety and security team and is in close partnership with (Chicago Police Department) as well as the Magnificent Mile Association. At any given time, there are a number of professionally trained security officers on site at the shopping center," mall owner General Growth Properties said in an emailed statement.
Jerry Storch, CEO of Hudson's Bay Co., which owns Saks Fifth Avenue, wasn't familiar with the protest plans but said Tuesday the company always has security plans in place, especially with the extra Black Friday crowds.
"We'll be ready for anything that happens," he said.
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