FREE ESSAY ON AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE IN CHICAGO

AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE IN CHICAGO

A History of African American Heritage in Chicago 
The massive exodus to the north began in 1915; a population of people weary of pervasive
hostility and constraint in their former lives, fleeing a social system comprised of
miserable oppression and repeated violence. The primary cities for resettlement became
New York and Chicago, metropolises humming with the vigor of big-city life and the
excitement of a new beginning. When the Chicago Commission asked African American
migrants in interviews on Race Relations in 1922 why they came to Chicago, responses were
similar. "I'm looking for better wages." "I wanted to get away from the South, and to
earn more money." "I wanted to better my living conditions." One man, when asked what his
first impression of Chicago was, responded "When I got here and got on the street cars
and saw colored people sitting by white people all over the car I just held my breath,
for I thought that any minute they would start something, then I saw nobody noticed it,
and I just thought this was a real place for colored people." And life was good; if not
ideal it was better than the disparaging environment of their prior residence in the
South. 
This migration coincided with the War. Job opportunities sprang up everywhere as demand
increased for more goods and services, and suddenly in 1920 the Negro population of
Chicago had soared from 44,103 in 1915 to 109,594. The Illinois Central Railroad brought
hundreds on free transportation, on the premise that they would employ their company. The
Negro employment rate skyrocketed; the most popular jobs lying within the iron foundries,
food products manufacturing, the tanneries, and the mail order industry. 
The majority of blacks coming from the south settled in a limited area known as the South
Side. Named the "black belt of the city," it was the most concentrated area of the
African American population of the time. The difficulty of finding residence in the other
parts of the city and the abundance of vacant houses aided in this settlement of the
South Side. However, as deep-seated racial prejudice was still running rampant throughout
the nation, loud protests erupted and whites quickly abandoned residential areas
populated by blacks. 
Underlying racial hostility between blacks and whites was unfortunately gaining momentum.
On July 27, 1919, this animosity was demonstrated in a terrible week of rioting beginning
with the drowning of African-American youth Eugene Williams off a Lake Michigan beach.
This event was a catalyst for a weeklong violent, bloody warfare. As black workers walked
or rode the streetcars west and arrived to begin their shifts at the Stockyards, they
were met by angry mobs of white gangs and workers, who attacked them mercilessly and
drove them off. The mobs were beyond control. African American community members armed
themselves and prepared to defend themselves and their homes against armed white gangs
who tore into their neighborhood. The end of the week concluded in death tolls of 23
blacks and 15 whites, 157 persons being injured. 
The Chicago Commission on Race Relations was established soon after these staggering race
riots, to study the roots and causes of the conflict. Their report on Chicago in 1992,
with interviews of hundreds of black Chicago citizens, provided an insightful window into
the race problem in the North, which attention was being drawn to due to the Great
Migration. 
States the Chicago Commission on Race Relations in the document The Negro in Chicago, 
"Both races need to understand that their rights and duties are mutual and equal, 
and that their interests in the common good are identical: that relations of amity are
the only protection against race clashes; that these relations cannot be forced, but will
come naturally as the leaders of each race develop within their own ranks a realization
of the gravity of this problem and a vital interest in its solution, and an attitude of
confidence, respect, and friendliness toward the people of the other race." 
The conflicts between blacks and whites have since subsided a great amount, but residue
from the memories of violence and hatred still prevails. It will be a momentous day when
we can be united as one indiscriminate, unbiased race, but that day has yet to come.