Sandburg, Carl. The Chicago race riots. New York, Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1919. Image. https://www.loc.gov/item/19019136/.
This is a valuable resource that promotes student discourse about a significant historical event in the lives of African Americans at the time. As educators discuss topics such as land ownership, accumulation of wealth, civil rights, racial discrimination, governance, and historic events, this widely unknown event offers a different perspective on the traditional role that cities and governments have had in the experiences of African Americans and other minorities throughout history in the United States. Educators can engage students in discussion regarding African Americans’ migration to Chicago and other areas in the north. Of particular focus will be the racial conditions that many experienced during times of exponential growth, along with perspectives on the events that occurred, and advertisements that were relayed across the United States that led to additional rioting.
This primary source provides insights on the conditions surrounding segregation in the north and how it was perceived at the time in different communities. It further details a series of incidents that took place against members of the African American community and the start of events that led to the Chicago Race Riots of 1919. This source in its entirety sheds light on racial conditions of the riots, and will spark discussion germane to the similarities and differences of the twenty-six cities in which the riots occurred.
- African Americans were returning home after having served in WWI. The Chicago Race Riots of 1919 set off a time of racial riots and unrest throughout the United States that became known as the Red Summer, during which many people experienced acts of violence toward them.
- The riots took place in twenty-six cities, and the response of local government depended on the location. Many young African Americans who participated did so to fight for equality and political rights.
- What challenges faced by African Americans led to the Chicago Race Riots?
- What overall conditions and or events acted as a catalyst for the race riots of 1919 throughout the country?
- What impact did segregation have on the riots?
- What role did privilege play in many whites not being charged for crimes during the summer of 1919?
- What similarities involving racial hardships of the Chicago Race Riots of 1919 do we see in the present day?
South Carolina Social Studies College- and Career-Ready Standards
Social Studies Deconstructed Skills, CE: Causation: Identify and compare significant turning points, including the related causes and effects that affect historical continuity and change.
- Teachers can present the result and allow students to identify and compare points of causation relative to this historical event.
Social Studies Deconstructed Skills, E: Evidence- Identify, interpret, and utilize different forms of evidence, including primary and secondary sources, used in an inquiry based study of history.
- Students can expand their knowledge of the Chicago Race Riots of 1919 to the twenty-six cities impacted and review primary and secondary sources from the event.
USAHC.4.CX- Contextualize changes in American culture within new migration patterns, participation in global conflict, and capitalist business cycles.
- Teachers can encourage students’ inquiry into the shaping of American culture as a result of mass media and African American cultural and arts movements by exploring the influence of what was known as Black Wall Street.
ELA.AOR.6: Summarize and paraphrase text to support comprehension and understanding.
- Teachers can allow students to develop objective summaries from multiple texts to support understanding of the Chicago Race Riots of 1919.
ELA.R.1: Use critical thinking skills to investigate, evaluate, and synthesize a variety of sources to obtain and refine knowledge.
- Teachers can present images from the resource and allow students to evaluate the texts and use critical thinking skills to come to conclusions about the events that transpired during the Chicago Race Riots.
- As teachers seek to introduce the topic of the Chicago Race Riots, they can use lessons about the riots to increase awareness about widely unknown historical events in the lives and history of African Americans. Show an excerpt from, or entirety of, this video highlighting African Americans’ migration north. Page four of the viewer’s guide provides context for the migration explained in the video. After watching the video, provide time for students to quick-write about key points in the video and what resonated with them.
- Afterward, display the images from the primary source and provide time for students to read through it. Ask students to summarize the text and research the conditions that contributed to the riots.
- Exploration of this in-depth source can further understanding of research, objective summaries, and perspective.
- After students have summarized the text, allow them to further research the Chicago Race Riots by focusing on historical African American communities, race relations, newspaper articles from the time, and the role of city and government officials.
Teaching about the Red Summer and the Chicago Race Riots of 1919 can lead to challenge because:
- A large part of the Chicago riots resulted in lynchings and violence around the United States against African Americans, often described in great detail. Some may take issue with students being exposed to and discussing these graphic acts of violence.
- Social tensions between Blacks and whites may be difficult for some to discuss, causing discomfort for students.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- Implementing lessons and discussing the Red Summer and the Chicago Race Riots should be intentional. Teachers can access available lessons on the riots here. Educators can also view the source “Discussing Race and Racism in the Classroom” from Facing History for additional support.
- [Boarded up and damaged buildings on a street after riots in Newark, New Jersey] / WKL.: A comparable photograph from August 22, 1967, after the race riots in Newark, NJ.
- During race riots, Elaine, Ark.: This photograph shows soldiers who were dispatched to Elaine, Arkansas, during the race riot there relaxing at their camp of pup tents.
- Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots
- Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America
- Red Summer: The Race Riots of 1919
- The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project
- The Red Summer
- Mapping the 1919 Chicago Race Riots: This map provides a visual of the race riots that took place during 1919. It can be used to illustrate the widespread severity and threat of the riots across cities in the United States.
- Chicago Race Riots Resources: This rich resource provides a detailed timeline of the events surrounding the Chicago Race Riots and highlights the thriving communities that African Americans were able to develop in a short time after migrating north.