African American Heritage In Chicago
A History of African American Heritage in Chicago The massive exodus to the
north began in 1915; a population of people weary of pervasive hostility and
constraint in their former lives, fleeing a social system comprised of miserable
oppression and repeated violence. The primary cities for resettlement became New
York and Chicago, metropolises humming with the vigor of big-city life and the
excitement of a new beginning. When the Chicago Commission asked African
American migrants in interviews on Race Relations in 1922 why they came to
Chicago, responses were similar. “I’m looking for better wages.” “I wanted to
get away from the South, and to earn more money.” “I wanted to better my living
conditions.” One man, when asked what his first impression of Chicago was,
responded “When I got here and got on the street cars and saw colored people
sitting by white people all over the car I just held my breath, for I thought
that any minute they would start something, then I saw nobody noticed it, and I
just thought this was a real place for colored people.” And life was good; if
not ideal it was better than the disparaging environment of their prior
residence in the South. This migration coincided with the War. Job opportunities
sprang up everywhere as demand increased for more goods and services, and
suddenly in 1920 the Negro population of Chicago had soared from 44,103 in 1915
to 109,594. The Illinois Central Railroad brought hundreds on free
transportation, on the premise that they would employ their company.
The Negro
employment rate skyrocketed; the most popular jobs lying within the iron
foundries, food products manufacturing, the tanneries, and the mail order
industry. The majority of blacks coming from the south settled in a limited area
known as the South Side. Named the “black belt of the city,” it was the most
concentrated area of the African American population of the time. The difficulty
of finding residence in the other parts of the city and the abundance of vacant
houses aided in this settlement of the South Side. However, as deep-seated
racial prejudice was still running rampant throughout the nation, loud protests
erupted and whites quickly abandoned residential areas populated by blacks.
Underlying racial hostility between blacks and whites was unfortunately gaining
momentum. On July 27, 1919, this animosity was demonstrated in a terrible week
of rioting beginning with the drowning of African-American youth Eugene Williams
off a Lake Michigan beach. This event was a catalyst for a weeklong violent,
bloody warfare. As black workers walked or rode the streetcars west and arrived
to begin their shifts at the Stockyards, they were met by angry mobs of white
gangs and workers, who attacked them mercilessly and drove them off. The mobs
were beyond control. African American community members armed themselves and
prepared to defend themselves and their homes against armed white gangs who tore
into their neighborhood.
The end of the week concluded in death tolls of 23
blacks and 15 whites, 157 persons being injured. The Chicago Commission on Race
Relations was established soon after these staggering race riots, to study the
roots and causes of the conflict. Their report on Chicago in 1992, with
interviews of hundreds of black Chicago citizens, provided an insightful window
into the race problem in the North, which attention was being drawn to due to
the Great Migration. States the Chicago Commission on Race Relations in the
document The Negro in Chicago, “Both races need to understand that their rights
and duties are mutual and equal, and that their interests in the common good are
identical: that relations of amity are the only protection against race clashes;
that these relations cannot be forced, but will come naturally as the leaders of
each race develop within their own ranks a realization of the gravity of this
problem and a vital interest in its solution, and an attitude of confidence,
respect, and friendliness toward the people of the other race.” The conflicts
between blacks and whites have since subsided a great amount, but residue from
the memories of violence and hatred still prevails. It will be a momentous day
when we can be united as one indiscriminate, unbiased race, but that day has yet
to come.
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