By the time the Democratic National Convention wrapped up last week in Chicago, thousands of protesters had taken to the streets outside to demand an end to the US provision of funding and weapons for Israel’s war in Gaza. Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the Hamas attack on October 7 of last year. More than 16,000 of the Palestinian dead are children.

Demonstrators rallied and marched in Downtown Chicago and near the United Center, where much of the DNC programming took place, from the eve of the convention on August 18 until the last day on August 22. The week was packed with marches, alternative programming, and autonomously organized direct actions, including banner drops, a middle-of-the-night noise demo outside of Kamala Harris’s hotel, and a short-lived free zone with protesters camping in a park.

The mood at the March on the DNC–organized rally on Monday, August 19, in Union Park was defiant and determined. After a months-long battle to secure a permit from the city, the fights with city officials continued in the days leading up to the march over the exact route, the sound and stage setup, and how many port-a-potties were allowed. The many thousands of demonstrators were energetic and determined to make their presence felt by the political leaders gathering a few blocks away.

“I’m out here because I was feeling demoralized and isolated, and I knew that people who also didn’t want to be complicit in a US-funded genocide would be here,” said Will Sonheim, who lives in Chicago. “I wanted to feel like a single little pixel in a big photo of people trying to be on the right side of history.”

Demonstrators were angry and disillusioned with Democrats over their position on Israel, and unconvinced by the more conciliatory rhetoric from vice president and party presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

“I think it’s important that our candidates understand that it’s not a popularity contest. It’s about policy, and funding the murdering of children is not a policy I can get behind,” said protester Hannah Englebright. Kamala Harris “talks about wanting a cease-fire. My dude, you are the fire. Stop firing. You have the capability to do that, and you’re not going to get my vote until you do.”

“This is about morality. This is about spirituality. It is precisely this moral power, this spiritual power that allows us to straighten our backs up and say no to genocide in the Democratic Party,” said presidential candidate Cornel West in a surprise appearance at the end of the rally on August 19.

Over 250 organizations endorsed the March on the DNC, showcasing the range of issues and priorities of the left-movement ecosystem. Contingents were present from organizations like the Chicago Teachers Union, Mijente, Jewish Voice for Peace, Democratic Socialists of America, and CODEPINK. Program speakers hailed from these and other organizations, including National Nurses United, Students for Justice in Palestine, and the Palestinian Feminist Collective.

Demonstrators were overwhelmingly furious and disappointed in Democratic leadership for their continued backing of Israel’s war in Gaza despite the months of peace protests and growing popular support for a cease-fire and weapons embargo.

“I have been voting Democrat my entire adult life. Four years ago, I voted for what I thought was the lesser of two evils,” said demonstrator Zaineb Abdulla. “And now I feel personally responsible for the deaths of the kids, men, and women in Gaza who have been killed so far. I cannot in good conscience vote that way again. I feel as if I’m being asked to vote between Satan and the devil, and I’m not going to do that anymore. I think [the Democrats] have strongly underestimated the folks who are anti-genocide.”

“I’m here because of my Jewish values,” said Benjamin Teller from Jewish Voice for Peace Chicago. “I think it’s really sickening to see our stories and our history twisted to support ethnic cleansing and genocide. It’s really important for us to say as Jews that this can’t be done in our name.”

“It’s such a slap in the face to the majority of Democrats who said they don’t want to keep supporting this,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK. “We need to put the pressure on so we can at least be some kind of counterweight to the lobby groups, whether it’s AIPAC or Christians United for Israel or the weapons industry that makes so much money on these things.”

The DNC represented a consequential moment when national attention was fixed on the Democratic establishment’s pomp (and to a lesser degree, its policy plans). But protesters expressed that they’re not content to stop now that the convention is over. Instead, many intend to utilize their leverage in the months leading up to the election.

“Wherever we are, we should be protesting and demanding that they stop weapon sales to Israel,” said Benjamin. A demonstrator named Dusty said that “the pressure is still mounting and now is the time to continue to escalate.”

On August 22, the final day of the DNC, thousands of people gathered once again in Union Park, energized and determined to keep up the fight beyond the DNC and the November election.

“The amount of growth we’ve seen not just in numbers but in the education, awareness, and the power of this movement in the last ten months is really mind-boggling,” said Mollie Hartenstein from Jewish Voice for Peace. “We’re not going to stop until Palestine is free from the river to the sea.”