Policing Racial Violence: 1919 and Beyond
Tuesday, October 15
In 1919, what role did the police play in calming the riots, or fueling them? How did various communities view the police in 1919? What has changed today? Join us for a discussion at the Chicago History Museum about law enforcement and the nature of racial violence from 1919 to the present. Nancy Villafranca, CHM’s director of education moderates this dynamic conversation featuring:
- Robin Robinson, director of restorative justice strategies at the Chicago Police Department
- Simon Balto, assistant professor of history at the University of Iowa and author of Occupied Territory: Policing Black Chicago from Red Summer to Black Power
- Andy Clarno, associate professor of sociology and African American studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Free, RSVP required
About Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots
The Chicago 1919 Race Riots precipitated the most violent week in Chicago history. They were sparked by the murder of Eugene Williams, an African American teenager stoned and drowned by a white man for floating his raft over an invisible line into a whites-only South Side beach. The police refused to arrest the white perpetrator, and the city erupted in arson, looting, and thirty-eight deaths (23 black, 15 white) until the National Guard was called to restore order. The riots inflicted lasting scars on the city, still visible in the lines of segregation throughout the city’s built environment, its schools, and its selective policing.
Free, RSVP required