A race riot rocked Chicago's south side in the summer of 1919, leaving
38 dead, more than 500 injured, and many more homeless. The conflict was
sparked by the killing of a black teenager at the 26th Street beach--but
racial tension had been brewing in Chicago for years. "Chicago's 1919
Race Riots" puts the riot in the context of post-WWI Chicago, and
then re-creates the riot itself, using rare photographs. Following the
documentary John Callaway interviews African-American journalist and historian
Vernon Jarrett about the lasting impact of the riot.
Explore original sources
Read selections of the Chicago
Commission on Race Relations report.
Read the coroner's
report.
For More Information
Learn about the role
of gangs in the 1919 race riot.
Meet Vernon
Jarrett.
Read "Race
Riot: Chicago in the Red Summer of 1919" by William M. Tuttle,
Jr.
Visit the DuSable
Museum of African-American History.
![]() |
![]() Your $40 Gift Membership will include:
|
![]() |