The Shadow of Chicago?

In the May 13 edition of Christian Science Monitor, staff writers note that Republican "officials and city fathers are also trying to avoid the sort of image fallout sustained from riots at Chicago's 1968 Democratic convention."

A few commentators have made this analogy. NYC 2004 = Chicago '68? But that begs the next question: what exactly happened at the Democratic National Convention in 1968? The myth is pretty well known, of course: Yippies; the police riot; Mayor Daley; "the whole world is watching!"; the battle on the convention floor. The details, however, tend to get lost in the iconic images. It might not be a bad idea for activists to reaquaint themselves with the events of that fateful summer.

Dean Blobaum has a pretty decent website devoted to the events of DNC 1968; most interesting is his bibliography, which has a ton of great reading materials for those inclined to actually read a book.

There's also this website, which is a collection of Yippie writings about Chicago.

Finally, there's this fascinating series of transcripts from the famous "Chicago 8" conspiracy trial. Check out Bobby Seale's testimony, especially.