CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Independent presidential candidate Cornel West was among pro-Palestinian protesters who marched on the Democratic National Convention on Monday, calling for the end to the genocide that demonstrators say was funded by Democrats.

The March on the DNC is the first of two events this week in Chicago and was expected to draw tens of thousands of demonstrators, organizers say.

While the March on the DNC is a coalition of organizations representing various social issues, a pro-Palestine commitment binds them all. More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel launched an attack in its war against Hamas on October 7, the Associated Press has reported.

West, who is seeking to be added to presidential ballots as an independent, says his stance on the war in Gaza separates him from Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to accept the Democrats’ nomination for president on Thursday in Chicago.

“She and I come out of a long tradition of Black folks from both Jamaica and the United States with Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, and Malcolm X who always made the connection between having a moral authority, which means if you have any moral authority, you call a genocide into question,” West told reporters, including from NewsNation, on Monday.  

“If you have any moral authority, you speak to the issues of poverty and wealth inequality in a substantiative way and mass incarceration. So, in that sense, I’m just clashing with Sister Harris. I come out of a different corner of the Black (tradition).”

Asked on Monday what he needs to hear from Harris when she speaks to Democrats on Thursday night at the United Center, West said Harris’ approach needs to go beyond words.

“I don’t want to hear words,” he said. “I want to see action.”