Alongside the familiar red, white and blue of American flags, another set of colors paraded down Central Street on Saturday afternoon: red, white, green and black — the colors of the Palestinian flag.

Sandwiched between acrobatic dancers and spirited marching bands, advocacy group Evanston for a Free Palestine sparked conversations while marching in this year’s Fourth of July Parade. 

Members carried Palestinian flags and signs bearing messages like “Free Palestine” and “No one is free until we’re all free.” 

Rogers Park resident Judith Roeder, a member of Evanston for a Free Palestine, said she did not consider the group’s participation out of place.

“The Fourth of July has always been political,” Roeder said. “The point of being here is to remind people of what’s going on in Palestine. We want to remind people that we’re still here.”

Marianne Eberhardt, who also marched with Evanston for a Free Palestine, said the contrast between the group’s message and the parade’s celebratory atmosphere informed her own view of the holiday. 

Eberhardt said the Fourth of July should be less about honoring and more about critically reflecting on the country’s history.

“We should be asking for forgiveness,” Eberhardt said. “We should be acknowledging what this country is really founded on, and we should be talking about the genocide of the Palestinians.”

Following the event, the group’s presence at the parade drew criticism from the Chicago Jewish Alliance, which promotes “understanding and support for Zionism,” according to the organization’s website.

In a Sunday email, CJA President Daniel Schwartz criticized Mayor Daniel Biss, City Council and parade organizers for allowing the group to walk. The email, which CJA posted to Instagram on Monday, called the decision “a deeply disappointing example of failed civic leadership.”

In an email response also posted on CJA’s Instagram, Biss wrote that the parade’s organizers, the Evanston Fourth of July Association, independently chose to include Evanston for a Free Palestine, adding he “strongly support(s) their decision.”

Members of the advocacy group said they viewed the march as an opportunity to directly engage with Evanston community members.

Eberhardt said she hoped the group’s presence at the parade would encourage passersby to ask questions and learn more about the organization’s work.

“I’m really grateful to be a part of Evanston for a Free Palestine because I feel like it’s an opportunity to teach people,” Eberhardt said. “I’m just hoping that people will want to know more and want to say ‘Hey, what is this group about?’”

Among the spectators was Evanston resident Niabelle Comeau, a rising senior at Tulane University. When she saw the Palestinian flags and heard chants of “Free, free Palestine,” Comeau cheered and waved at the group.

She said she was initially surprised to see members of Evanston for a Free Palestine marching in the parade. 

“I wasn’t expecting to see that because normally there aren’t that many overtly political groups,” Comeau said. “But I was really glad to see it. People should be able to share whatever it is they believe.”

For Evanston resident Annette Braden-Rozier, marching with the group on the Fourth of July demonstrated her belief that the country’s founding ideals have not yet been fulfilled.

Specifically, Braden-Rozier pointed to the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that all people are created with inalienable rights, adding the country is still striving to meet this ideal.

“This is a commemoration of our founding principles,” Braden-Rozier said. “I think it’s important to remember what our founding principles are and celebrate them. But I think they’re still aspiring principles. We still need to live up to them.”

Sami McKenney contributed reporting.

Katherine Hwang is a student in the Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute this summer.

Email: [email protected]

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