Chicago Race Riots

CHICAGO RACE RIOTS

Chicago Race Riots was the week of rioting between the gangs of African Americans and some white Chicagoans mostly in the South Side of the neighbourhood. On August 3, 1919 when the Chicago Race Riots came to an end, approximately 15 whites and 23 African Americans had been killed with more than 500 people injured. Not only did people get injured and killed because of the Chicago Race Riots, but more than 1000 African Americans also lost their homes and houses. Although people are aware of what the Chicago Race Riots is, the exact causes of the Chicago Race Riots are still very controversial.

After watching the video and reading the three documents about the causes of the Chicago Race Riots, the video and documents provided unique and various causes of the Chicago Race Riots.  The video explained that as African Americans went to a whites-only beach, the Whites threw stones at an African American teenager, which caused the teenager to drown and die. This caused a disagreement between the Whites and African Americans and eventually led to the riot. According to Document C, the author of Document C states that the destruction of homes of the African Americans who moved out of and lived outside of the "Black Belt" region, where most African Americans live, was the causes of the Chicago Race Riot. However, according to Document D, the experiences outside of America and in Europe were the causes to the riots. The author of Document D explains that due to their experiences outside of America, the African Americans now had new dreams, hopes and ideas which mostly denied discrimination, and as the Whites threw rocks to the African American teenager, they saw this as a way of discriminating and started the riot. Also, the author of Document E presents that the cause of the Chicago Race Riot was related to African Americans being fired from meat packing factories. As the Whites were returning from armed forces, they needed jobs in the already packed factories. In order to hire Whites during the war job shortage, African Americans were getting fired, which eventually caused the Chicago Race Riots.

Although there were numerous factors that contributed to the happening of the Chicago Race Riot, the boy getting killed was the main event that actually triggered the Chicago Race Riot. All the other causes listed by the documents were examples of discrimination happening during the time, but when the African American teenager was killed, this caused all these factors to really instigate the riot.

According to situations presented in the video and the documents, it is evident that the African Americans and the Whites had a very poor relationship. As the documents above show the numerous discrimination towards the African Americans, the Whites and the African Americans were not treated the same way and equally. Destroying homes of the African Americans because they were living in a location with more Whites, throwing stones because the African Americans went in a Whites-only beach, and getting fired due to their race are all clear examples of racial discrimination that existed in the 1920s. Therefore, it is clear that the race relationship between the Whites and the African Americans were extremely poor. 

White men and boys standing in front of a vandalized house.

 

An African American man was stoned to death by whites during the Chicago Race Riot of 1919.

Citations 

African American Being Stoned by Whites during 1919 Chicago Race Riot. 1919. Photograph. New York Public Library - Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York.

Chicago Race Riot, White Men, Boys Standing in Front of Vandalized House. 1919. Photograph. Chicago Daily News., n.p.