Thousands of activists are expected to attend the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago this week to raise awareness about abortion rights, economic injustice and the war in Gaza.

Activists say they have learned lessons from last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and expect larger crowds and more violent demonstrations in Chicago, a city with deep roots of social activism.

Demonstrations are expected throughout the congress, and while the goals vary, many activists agree that an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is a top priority.

It all starts on Sunday, the eve of the party convention, with a march for abortion rights along the famous Michigan Avenue.

Organizer Linda Loew said that while Democrats have worked to protect reproductive rights at home, the issue is an international one.

“We believe that the billions of dollars that continue to flow into the State of Israel and the flow of weapons have disproportionate and horrific impacts, particularly on women, children and the unborn,” she said. “All of these things are connected.”

The largest group, the Coalition to March on the DNC, has planned demonstrations for the first and last days of the convention.

Organizers expect at least 20,000 activists to attend, including students protesting against the war on university campuses.

“The people with power will be there,” said Liz Rathburn, a student organizer at the University of Illinois Chicago. “The people at the United Center are the people who will decide our foreign policy one way or another.”

Activists sued the city earlier this year, arguing that restrictions on the places where they can demonstrate violated their constitutional rights.

Chicago politicians rejected their requests for permits to protest near the United Center on the city’s West Side, where the party convention is taking place, and instead offered a lakefront park more than three miles away.

The city later agreed to allow demonstrations in a park and on a march route closer to the United Center. A federal judge recently approved the group’s roughly one-mile route.

Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesman for the coalition marching on the DNC, said the group was happy it won the right to protest closer to the convention, but he believed the 2-mile march it favored would be safer for larger crowds. The group charters buses for activists from about a half-dozen states.

“We are moving forward with full force,” he said.

The city has designated a park about a block from the United Center as a speaker’s platform. Those who register will be given 45 minutes.

The Philadelphia-based Poor People’s Army, which advocates for economic justice, plans to set up shop in Humboldt Park on the city’s northwest side, where it will host events with third-party candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West and a 5K march to the United Center on Monday.

Some members of the group have marched more than 80 miles from Milwaukee in recent weeks, where they protested during the Republican National Convention.

“The poor and homeless are being brutalized, tents and encampments are being destroyed and blown away, from San Francisco to Philadelphia to Gaza and the West Bank,” spokeswoman Cheri Honkala said in a statement when the group reached Illinois. “These preventable human rights abuses are being perpetrated by Democratic and Republican leaders alike.”

Many activists believe that not much will change because Mrs Harris is part of the Biden administration.

“The demands haven’t changed. I haven’t seen any political changes,” said Erica Bentley, an activist with Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity. “If you want to be here, you have to listen to what’s important to us.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters have been a major presence in Chicago, blocking roads to the airport and staging sit-ins outside congressional offices. Some are planning their own one-day convention with third-party candidates on Sunday.

It is unclear whether the convention will also attract right-wing extremists who fervently support President Trump.

Secret Service Assistant Special Agent Derek Mayer said last week that there were no known specific security threats to the meeting.

The convention is expected to attract an estimated 50,000 people to the country’s third-largest city, including delegates, activists and journalists.

The city said it had made the necessary preparations with the police and the Secret Service. Security measures were tight and streets around the convention center were closed.

To address traffic concerns, city leaders are touting a new $80 million train station just steps from the United Center. They have also tried to beautify the city with freshly planted flowers and new signs. City leaders also cleared out a homeless encampment nearby.

Police have received training in constitutional policing, district courts say they are providing more space for mass arrests, and hospitals near the security zone are stepping up their emergency preparedness.

But some still worry about security, fearing the protests could become unpredictable or degenerate into chaos.

“We’re going to make sure that people’s rights are protected under the First Amendment and that they can do so safely,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.

Activist Hy Thurman protested and was arrested at the infamous 1968 convention, best known for the brutal clashes between police and anti-Vietnam War protesters. The 74-year-old now lives in Alabama but plans to come to Chicago to protest the war in Gaza.

“For me, this is a very personal matter,” he said. “I see parallels.”

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