Chicago’s 1919 race riots barely registered in the city’s current consciousness, yet they proved a significant turning point in shaping the racial divides we see today. In 2019, the Newberry Library and 13 partners organized Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots, a year-long initiative engaging in public conversations about the legacy of the most violent week in Chicago history.
Chicago 1919 was guided by the belief that the 1919 race riots can serve as a lens for understanding Chicago today. Racial tensions related to policing, migration, and housing all came to a head in 1919. By reflecting on the past 100 years, Chicagoans may see how our current racial divisions evolved from the race riots, as the marginalization of African Americans in Chicago became institutionalized through increasingly sophisticated forms of discrimination.
Throughout the year, people across Chicago came together to share in our collective reckoning with a little-known yet tremendously consequential chapter in the city’s history.