1919 Chicago race riot claimed 23 Black lives
Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project in partnership with Organic Oneness, a grassroots social justice organization in Chicago dedicated to eliminating racism and fostering community healing, will hold their eighth annual bike ride in commemoration of the1919 race riot in which 38 Chicago residents were killed between July 27 and August 13.
To register for our free historic bike ride and learn more, please check our Eventbrite page.
This year’s historic bike tour will have a different starting point and route. We will launch from the lakefront at our newly installed marker for Eugene Williams, which is near 125 Fort Dearborn Drive. Check-in will be from 9:15 am – 9:45 am, followed by a brief opening program.
Our slow-roll, 7-mile historic bike tour will conclude at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) parking lot D5, on the northeast side of the intersection of 35th and State St.
Some 23 Blacks and 15 White were killed in riots called “Red Summer” because of the deaths in Chicago and in other cities.
In Chicago, over 500 people were injured (about two-thirds Black, one-third White. Between 1,000 and 2,000 residents, mostly Black, lost their homes.
The violence in Chicago began after a Black teenager drowned in Lake Michigan after being stoned by a White man. True to form, police refused to arrest him, sparking a riot and mass unrest.
The riot centered on Chicago’s South Side, especially the stockyards area, and lasted nearly a week before it was brought under control.
The 2.5-hour bike tour will explore some of the history of the Chicago race riots of 1919 and its legacy of residential segregation, as well as highlighting the resilience of the Black community and its bold resistance to racism and racial violence.
In addition, the tour will celebrate the completion of our campaign to install 38 markers commemorating each of the lives lost during the Chicago Race Riot of 1919.
This tour will visit more markers commemorating those killed, created by Firebird Community Arts, which is based in East Garfield Park. Firebird expands access to affordable, high-quality arts instruction and safe spaces where art supports healing.