1968 Chicago riots

Rioting and looting event (April 5–7) the 1968 Chicago King assassination riots the riots associated with the 1968 Democratic National Convention 1968 Democratic National Convention protests August 2026 April 2026 1968 Chicago Riots the King assassination riots 1968 04 05 1968 04 07 Chicago, Illinois, United States 41 52 N 87 44 W dms inline,title type:event_region:US-MD_scale:50000 Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Rioting, race riots, protests, looting, attacks United States 1960 23px United States government United States Army 1st Armored Division CSIB.svg 15px 1st Armored Division US_5th_Infantry_Division.svg 5th Infantry Division Illinois Government of Illinois Seal of the United States Army National Guard.svg Illinois Army National Guard Flag of Chicago, Illinois.svg City of Chicago Chicago Police Department Rioters, protesters 11 500 2,150+ The 1968 Chicago riots, in the United States, were sparked in part by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. Rioting and looting followed, with people flooding out onto the streets of major cities, primarily in black urban areas.Rosenberg Jennifer Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. http://history1900s.about.com/cs/martinlutherking/a/mlkassass.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20170220075251/http://history1900s.about.com/cs/martinlutherking/a/mlkassass.htm February 20, 2017 May 17, 2011 Over 100 major U.S. cities suffered such disturbances, resulting in roughly $50 million in damage.April 2026 King had led a march for open housing in Chicago; whites responded violently. He said, "I've been in many demonstrations all across the South, but I can say that I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I'm seeing in Chicago." The riots after his death were particularly aggressive by both rioters and police, resulting in severe damage.Risen Clay https://archive.org/details/nationonfireamer00rise A nation on fire : America in the wake of the King assassination John Wiley & Sons 2009 978-0-470-17710-5 Hoboken, N.J. April 5: 'There are no ghettos in Chicago' registration Of the 39 people who died in the nationwide disturbances, 34 were black. Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. underwent some of the worst riots following King's assassination. In Chicago itself, more than 48 hours of rioting left 11 Chicago citizens dead, 48 wounded by police gunfire, 90 policemen injured, and 2,150 people arrested.West Madison Street 1968 http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/6354.html May 17, 2011 Associated Press Three miles of East Garfield Park and West Garfield Park on West Madison Street were left in a state of rubble. Later the same year, around the Democratic National Convention, Chicago would once again be a place for political protest and clashes with the authorities. Events April 5 On April 5, 1968, violence sparked on the West side of Chicago, gradually expanding to consume a 28-block stretch of West Madison Street and leading to additional damage on Roosevelt Road.Freeman Jo Riot in Chicago http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/Kingfuneral.html https://web.archive.org/web/20110514033310/http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/Kingfuneral.html May 14, 2011 August 13, 2012 The Death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Austin and Lawndale neighborhoods on the West Side, and the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side experienced the majority of the destruction and chaos. The rioters broke windows, looted stores, and set buildings (both abandoned and occupied) on fire. Firefighters quickly flooded the neighborhood, and Chicago's off-duty firefighters were told to report to work. There were 36 major fires reported between 4:00 pm and 10:00 pm alone. The next day, Mayor Richard J. Daley imposed a curfew on anyone under the age of 21, closed the streets to automobile traffic, and halted the sale of guns or ammunition. April 6 Approximately 10,500 police were sent in, and by April 6, more than 6,700 Illinois National Guard troops had arrived in Chicago with 5,000 soldiers from the 1st Armored and 5th Infantry Divisions being ordered into the city by President Johnson.Janson Donald April 7, 1968 MORE SOLDIERS SENT TO CONTROL WASHINGTON AND CHICAGO RIOTS;; 5,000 Troops Are Flown To Chicago for Riot Duty 5,000 U.S. Troops Sent as Chicago Riots Spread; Death Toll Is 9, and 300 Are Hurt A YOUTH CURFEW ORDERED BY DALEY 7,500 Guard Troops Help to Patrol the City -800 Persons Seized https://www.nytimes.com/1968/04/07/archives/more-soldiers-sent-to-control-washington-and-chicago-riots-5000.html June 1, 2020 The New York Times The general in charge declared that no one was allowed to have gatherings in the riot areas and authorized the use of tear gas. Mayor Richard J. Daley gave police the authority "to shoot to kill any arsonist or anyone with a Molotov cocktail in his hand ... and ... to shoot, to maim, or cripple anyone looting any stores in our city."Coates James December 19, 2007 Riots Following the Killing of Martin Luther King Jr. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-chicagodays-kingriots-story,0,4609945.story May 25, 2011 Chicago Tribune https://web.archive.org/web/20120302232130/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-chicagodays-kingriots-story,0,4609945.story March 2, 2012 dead The South Side had escaped the major chaos mainly because the two large street gangs, the Blackstone Rangers and the East Side Disciples, cooperated to control their neighborhoods. Many gang members did not participate in the rioting, due in part to King's direct involvement with these groups in 1966. Aftermath thumb|right|200px|thumbtime=0:55|Film shot by Daspo Conus on April 9, 1968, of Chicago after the riots Federal troops were requested to restore order, and the President invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807 on April 7. Rumors and investigation Rumors circulated that the riots had been organized by Black Panther activists and on April 10, a Chicago Tribune editorial claimed that "Black Power groups" had been the driving force behind the violence through a "conspiracy to riot." No evidence was produced to support the argument that it was a planned riot. During the summer of 1968, Mayor Richard J. Daley appointed the Chicago Riot Study Committee. The committee was led by judges, business leaders, lawyers, and politicians, and staffed by volunteers from law offices. The Committee interviewed hundreds of black residents and white business owners in the area, as well as police officers, fire fighters, and local activists, but no evidence of a conspiracy was produced. The final Riot Study concluded, "Some of the rioters may have discussed specific acts of violence, but for the majority of blacks, the riot was a spontaneous overflow of pent-up aggressions."Report of the Chicago Riot Study Committee to the Hon. Richard J. Daley 1968 Chicago, IL 72 The Committee also concluded that the majority of first rioters were high school students who began taking their frustration out on white business owners. Once the riots started, however, witnesses said that the riots expanded and multiple adults joined the teenage rioters. No evidence was found that concluded anyone intentionally set fire to a black-owned business or residence. Damages and shortages The riots resulted in over 125 fires and 210 buildings being damaged, totaling $10 million worth of damages. Power lines and telephone lines all around the city were knocked out. In the first two days of rioting, police reported multiple civilian deaths but were unable to determine whether they were caused by the riots or other crimes. No official death toll was given for the riots, although published accounts say 9 to 11 people died as a result. Over 2,000 people were arrested, and a thousand people were left homeless. The destruction was mostly on the west side. However, there was some damage on the south side, the near north side and as far north as Old Town. Following the riots, Chicago experienced a food shortage, and the city's needs were barely met by volunteers bringing food to the area. Results of the riots include the increase in pace of the area's ongoing deindustrialization and public and private disinvestment. Bulldozers moved in to clean up after the rioters, leaving behind vacant lots, some rebuilt but many of which remain today. 1960s See also List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States References Further reading Aaronson Mark N. 1969 Criminal Justice in Extremis: Administration of Justice During the April 1968 Chicago Disorder https://repository.uchastings.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=faculty_scholarship University of Chicago Law Review 36 455-613 10.2307/1599023 1599023 subscription https://web.archive.org/web/20240106161222/https://repository.uclawsf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=faculty_scholarship January 6, 2024 Allo Awol 2023 The Courtroom as an Arena of Ideological and Political Confrontation: The Chicago Eight Conspiracy Trial Law and Critique 34 1 81–104 10.1007/s10978-021-09315-w free Cohen Adam American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley: His Battle for Chicago and the Nation Taylor Elizabeth Little, Brown 2000 0316834033 Boston Farber David Chicago '68 University of Chicago Press 1988 0226238008 Chicago Graham Hugh Davis 1980 On Riots and Riot Commisions: Civil Disorders in the 1960s http://www.precaution.org/lib/05/civil_disorders_1960s.pdf Public Historian 2 7–27 10.2307/3377640 3377640 4 Grimshaw William J. Bitter Fruit: Black Politics and the Chicago Machine, 1931-1991 University of Chicago Press 1992 0226308936 Chicago Hendershot Heather When the News Broke: Chicago 1968 and the Polarizing of America University of Chicago Press 2023 9780226768526 Keiser Richard A. 1993 Explaining African-American Political Empowerment Windy City Politics from 1900 to 1983 Urban Affairs Review 29 1 84–116 10.1177/004208169302900104 Kleppner Paul https://archive.org/details/chicagodividedma00klep Chicago Divided: The Making of a Black Mayor Northern Illinois University Press 1985 0875801064 DeKalb, IL registration Electing Harold Washington Pach Chester J. 1999 TV's 1968: War, Politics, and Violence on the Network Evening News South Central Review 16/17 29–42 10.2307/3190074 3190074 Rivlin Gary https://archive.org/details/fireonprairiechi00rivl Fire on the Prairie: Chicago's Harold Washington and the Politics of Race H. Holt 1992 0805014683 New York registration Sims Yvonne D. 2008 The Week Chicago Died: How the 1968 Chicago Riots Changed the Democratic Party's Landscape Critique 36 2 273–287 10.1080/03017600802185407 Venkatesh Sudhir Alladi American Project: The Rise and Fall of a Modern Ghetto Harvard University Press 2002 9780674008304 Category:African-American history in Chicago Category:Riots and civil disorder in Chicago Category:1968 riots Category:1968 in Chicago Chicago Category:April 1968 in the United States Riots Category:Articles containing video clips