In Chicago, Protests And Calls For The Mayor To Resign

05:33

December 11, 2015

Demonstrators block downtown access to freeways on December 9, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. About 1,000 protesters calling for the resignation of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel marched through downtown blocking traffic and occasionally having brief clashes with police. Emanuel has come under fire as allegations of extreme misconduct in the Chicago Police Department continue to surface and many people have accused the mayor of trying to cover it up. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's job approval rating has fallen to 18 percent, and 51 percent of Chicagoans think he should resign.

This comes after the mayor fired Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and created a task force on police accountability last week. This week, Mayor Emanuel apologized for his handling of the 2014 shooting death of a black 17-year-old, Laquan McDonald, by a white police officer, Jason Van Dyke.

The city released the video of the shooting late last month, more than a year after McDonald was killed. Since then, there have been almost daily protests in Chicago.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson talks with Malcolm London, a poet and activist with the Black Youth Project, BYP100, about why he believes Rahm Emanuel needs to go, and what concrete actions and changes protesters are calling for in Chicago.

Guest

Malcolm London, poet and activist with the Black Youth Project, BYP100. He tweets @MalcolmLondon.

This segment aired on December 11, 2015.