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Angry With Emanuel, Protesters Boycott King Day Breakfast

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some leaders of the city's black community are demonstrating outside the annual Martin Luther King breakfast over what they say are the failures of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

On Friday morning, about 50 activists locked arms in front of the entrance to the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place hotel, where the annual interfaith breakfast was being held. They attempted, with limited success, to block access, as they chanted "16 shots and a cover-up," and "Rahm Emanuel's got to go," popular slogans at protests of the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald.

Bishop Tavis Grant, one of the organizers of the protest, stood off to the side of the boisterous crowd to speak to reporters.

"There are a lot of wounded families in this city. There's a lot of pain out here, and to sit, not even having them in the breakfast, not even have their family members in the breakfast, is appalling at best, but a tremendous insult," Grant said.

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Prominent author Isabel Wilkerson was invited to be the main speaker at the event, but a spokesperson confirmed she chose not to participate.

One minister who did attend the breakfast criticized other clergy for boycotting the event honoring Dr. King.

"For us to conjure up any reason or excuse to boycott this breakfast is to betray the sacrifices of our ancestors," Rev. Dr. B. Herbert Martin Sr. said.

Bishop James Dukes, one of many pastors who repeatedly have called on Emanuel to resign after fighting more than a year to keep video of the McDonald shooting out of the public eye, said their protest honors King's legacy of fighting for social justice.

"For those that say this dishonors King really don't know the history of what King is. The things that dishonor King is, you know, if they say that, why don't they go down to Macy's? Macy's is having a King Day sale. That dishonors King, but we're doing the very nature of what Martin Luther King did to bring social change," he said.

There was a full house -- 900 people -- inside the breakfast, but protesters said that was only because seniors were bused in from Chicago Housing Authority facilities to fill in seats that otherwise would have been empty due to the boycott.

At times, the protest outside got a bit unruly, with shoving between demonstrators and police who were helping guests get inside as activists chanted "shame on you!"

A small group of protesters tried to push their way inside the breakfast hall. They were barred from getting inside, but continued to yell and taunt people who had decided to attend.

At least one protester made her way inside the banquet hall. Helen Tyner stood up and changed before security escorted her out.

"I just demonstrated. I shouted out '16 shots!' to shut the breakfast down. I think the breakfast is dishonoring King's memory, and everything that he fought for. Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times. One officer was charged. There's still five more that needs to be charged," she said.

During the breakfast, Emanuel delivered an impassioned speech, saying he intends to root out the corruption which has caused so many people to lose faith in the current system.

"To deal with the violence that claims lives on our streets, mostly the lives of young African-American men, we also have to root out the cancer of police abuse," he said.

Emanuel has faced near constant demands to resign from activists angered by the city's decision to delay the release of the video of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald on a Southwest Side street in October 2014, as the teen was walking away from police. Van Dyke has since been charged with murder.

Emanuel has said he will not step down, but the video has raised serious questions about the police department's use of deadly force, led to the firing of Supt. Garry McCarthy, a shakeup of the board that is charged with reviewing police-involved shootings, and a Justice Department investigation of the Chicago Police Department.

Later Friday, about 100 people marched in the Gresham neighborhood, holding blue candles to signify a call for peace on Chicago's streets.

"In this city, we've had 24 people killed, 126 wounded since January First," St. Sabina Pastor Michael Pfleger said.

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