ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The Democratic National Convention is underway inside the United Center. And outside, where we are right now, protests are also getting underway with a large demonstration and march, possibly the first of many this week. There's music and flags, banners and slogans, mostly in support of the Palestinian cause. NPR's Sandhya Dirks is one member of our team here covering the DNC protests. Good to see you face-to-face, Sandhya.
SANDHYA DIRKS, BYLINE: Good to see you too, Ari.
SHAPIRO: This demonstration is expected to be one of the big ones of the week. Can you just describe the scene that we are surrounded by as this march kicks off?
DIRKS: There are thousands of people gathering in Union Park right now in Chicago. There's a stage. There's musicians playing. There are people with T-shirts, with flags, with banners. Well, there are people from different coalitions, you know, across the progressive movement here on immigrant's rights, women's rights, the movement to stop police brutality across the country. They are all here for a common cause. Here's march organizer Hatem Abudayyeh (ph).
HATEM ABUDAYYEH: And they're all coming together in unity to express the central demand and the central issue of this week of protests at the DNC, which is stop U.S. aid to Israel. Stop the genocide. Stand with Palestine. Free Palestine.
DIRKS: You know, just a note about the word genocide, you're going to hear that used a lot this week. But at NPR, that's a legal term. We consider that a legal term. So for, you know, Israel does stand accused of genocide, but it has not been found guilty, and Israel strongly refutes the accusation.
SHAPIRO: So you went to this briefing with the march organizers this morning. As I look out at the crowd, what I see more than anything else is a sea of Palestinian flags. Tell us specifically what the march organizers said they want to accomplish today.
DIRKS: They want to be heard. They feel like they've been trying to be heard by the Democratic Party for months now, especially on this issue. For them, there's no daylight between the Palestinian - for the Palestinian cause between the Democrats and the Republicans. And so they are progressives trying to push what they consider the closest thing they have to their party, the Democrats, to the left, especially on the issue of the Palestinian cause and of what's happening and a cease-fire. And for them, what they really want is to free Palestine. There are other things, too, but that is so central to their message today.
SHAPIRO: This march was planned long before the campaign shakeup last month, when Biden dropped out of the race and was replaced with Kamala Harris, and now her running mate, Tim Walz. For the people you have spoken with here, has that made any difference?
DIRKS: It hasn't. What they say basically that empathetic tone or a change in tone is not a change in policy. There's been no change on the ground. In fact, there's been more money to Israel for weapons. So, for them, nothing has changed. Although, for some people, you know, there is more excitement. Still, those people maybe feel that this is an issue that the Democrats should do more on. And there are people - that are here today. Kristin Lems (ph) is from Evanston. She's a Harris and Walz supporter. And she was holding a sign that said grandmothers against genocide. She said she's going to vote, and she's going to vote for the Democrats. She's excited. But...
KRISTIN LEMS: There's something missing, and that's the fact that you can't let a genocide just be a side show. It's too important.
DIRKS: It's worth noting that President Biden's official stance is that what Israel is doing is not a genocide. But in general, you know, his tone has shifted slightly. So basically, it's still not good enough for these protesters. They want the bombing to stop.
SHAPIRO: Well, how has the Harris-Walz campaign responded, if at all, to the protesters' demands?
DIRKS: They say they haven't heard from the campaign, but there are people inside the DNC - right? - the uncommitted movement who are working on something. So this is the pressure from the outside, while there's also pressure inside the DNC.
SHAPIRO: That's NPR's Sandhya Dirks. Thank you. I'm going to run back inside for the rest of ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
DIRKS: Have fun, Ari. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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