Chicago Race Riot of 1919

Rhonda Pavlu

The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 occurred during the “Red Summer,” a 6-month period when race riots occurred in 25 cities in the United States. This entry describes the Chicago Race Riot, which was one of the most violent and deadly during that time. The Chicago Race Riot is important to the study of race and crime because it provides a temporal perspective on race riots and race relations. Following World War I, Black veterans believed that they should be given employment and better wages since they had fought in the war, but many Whites opposed efforts to bring about racial equality in the workplace. Unionization of factories and plants was in progress in an effort to secure higher wages at the same time that Blacks were migrating to the North in search of jobs. Many Blacks filled in as strike breakers and refused to join unions. These actions led ...

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