Passers-by wandering through the weekly farmer’s market in Daley Plaza on Thursday were greeted by a strange tableau as they purchased their local produce and smoothies: dozens of teenagers and activists lying still on their backs on the granite to protest gun violence, as the sound of Mongolian throat-singing and the pungent scent of frying raclette hung in the air.
Rev. Michael Pfleger, whose St. Sabina Catholic Church bused several dozen protestors to the scene, said he did not know that the downtown square hosts the market and cultural events — on this day, a Mongolian flag raising ceremony— most Thursdays in the summer. But the activist pastor told a reporter that causing a minor disruption for the pedestrians looking for lunch or organic cherries fit with the message of the “die-in” event.
