The Democratic National Convention held its meeting in Boston, Massachusetts from July 26th-29th, 2004 to announce that John Kerry is the Democratic Party's official nominee for the presidency (this after a nearly unanimous symbolic vote). In his speech on Thursday July 29th, Kerry stated "...and we will double the size of our Special Forces, to conduct terrorist operations..."-- this statement does not appear in the written remarks that can be found on his campaign website. Some delegates felt that they had been coerced into voting to nominate Kerry.

The DNC became much less popular with residents of the Boston area during the months leading to the convention, as authorities announced in late May that their security plan for the DNC would require shutting down nearly 40 miles of Boston roads and highways. A protest organizing meeting was shut down in May. The MBTA announced well in advance that all passengers' bags and packages would be searched during the week of the DNC. The ACLU and National Lawyers Guild are going to sue over the "free speech zone"-- the zone was a disappointment to protesters who hoped to get messages across to the delegates.

Day-by-Day Breakdown: The Boston Social Forum took place from July 23rd through 25th (video). On Sunday, there was an rally sponsored by ANSWER. Monday's events included a rally and march sponsored by the Green-Rainbow Party, the Anarchist Black Cross, and Homes Not Jails and actions at the "Free Speech Zone," the legal zone that the police had located in an area that was not visible to people who were attending the convention. Report from Monday's Bl(A)ck Tea Society march for civil liberties and against police brutality. The Bl(A)ck Tea Society held an outdoor Really, Really Democratic Bazaar and concert on Tuesday, July 27th. A replica of the Israeli-Palestinian Security Wall was ordered dismantled by the police. There was a Billionaires for Bush March in the evening. On Wednesday there was a "What Have We Become: From Guantanamo to Abu Ghraib" rally of about 500 people. Later on there was an anti bioterror/bio-weapons protest. Thursday, July 29th was a day of action that was called for by the Bl(A)ck Tea Society- a critical mass bike ride and a banner drop were amongst the actions that were reported on Boston Indymedia. A call had been put out for Radical Queer Resistance at the DNC; to that end, a Radical Queers "Kiss-In" confronted DNC delegates and the crowd at Fanueil Hall on Thursday. Thursday, July 29th was San Francisco's West Coast Convention Party DNC 2004 Web Radio was also broadcast on 104.9 FM in the East Bay


SF activist Edain reports from Boston: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | SF activist Fredrika reports: 1 Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Video: Barack Obama Additional stories: FBI harasses anarchists | Racial profiling at the DNC | Armor-clad state police | Images from police build-up | One activist's bag search report | Affinity group protest report

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