Last Updated Jul 7, 2018 11:58 AM EDT
CHICAGO — Protesters planning to shut down a major Chicago interstate said they’re trying to pressure public officials to address the gun violence that’s claimed hundreds of lives in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Hundreds of protesters are participating in Saturday’s march.
There’s also a historical significance to marching along the stretch of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway. Some believe the roadway was built in the early 1960s to separate white communities and poor, black ones. It was the kind of racial and economic segregation that still exists in Chicago.
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest and anti-violence activist on the city’s South Side, is leading Saturday’s march. He said protesters would carry a banner with a list of demands that includes: more resources, jobs, better schools and stronger gun laws.
Illinois State Police shut down one lane of the Dan Ryan Expressway on Saturday to allow protesters to march along the interstate. Police Director Leo Schmitz said in a news release Saturday that an agreement was reached between “all stakeholders” on Thursday. State and Chicago police and Illinois Department of Transportation employees will provide a “safety barrier” between motorists and marchers along a stretch of Interstate 94, he added.
Police had warned earlier this week that any pedestrian who entered the expressway would face arrest and prosecution.
Young men on the city’s South and West Sides told CBS News last year how easy it is to obtain illegal guns, and why many never leave their homes without one.
“I know people who can’t walk from they house to the store without a gun,” said Aaron Murph. “Because people getting killed left and right. It’s sad.”
“I got shot twice and I could have been gone but I’m still here so, that scar, that’s with me, so,” said Tyshaun Grant. “It’s hell on earth.”
© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
