View a video recording of this event.
Throughout the 20th century African Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans migrated to Chicago from other parts of the country and the world. European-descended residents and recent immigrants responded to these migrations with policies and choices that segregated the city.
The 1919 Race Riots in particular set in motion efforts to keep groups of people separate, utilizing a powerful combination of violence, intimidation, and law – from neighborhood associations and restrictive covenants to redlining and contract purchase schemes. Today we have still not solved how to break down the spatial boundaries that separate Chicagoans.
Join us as we delve into the history of housing and race, reflect on our current divides, and consider what we can do to build a more inclusive city.
Schedule
- 1:00 pm Introduction and overview, Lee Bey
- 1:15 pm
- A Brief History of Migration, Housing, and Race in Chicago, Brad Hunt
- Q&A. Please write your questions on one of the cards provided; they will be collected during the presentation.
- 2:00 pm Story Circle Sessions
- Facilitated listening to hear more about eath other's experiences with migration and housing
- 2:40 pm On the Ground: Working Today to Rebuild the West Side, Tanesha House in conversation with Lee Bey
Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots
Visit this page for a complete list of Chicago 1919 public programs.
This event is part of the Newberry's year-long initiative, Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots. It has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor, and by generous support from Edith Rasmussen Ahern and Patrick Ahern. Our Youth Engagement Sponsor is Allstate.
Collaborative partners in Chicago 1919 include the Black Chicago History Forum, Black Metropolis Research Consortium, Blackstone Bicycle Works, Chicago Architectural Club, Chicago Collection Consortium, Chicago History Museum, Chicago Public Library, Chicago Urban League, City Bureau, Kartemquim Films, Middle Passage Production, and Young Chicago Authors.
Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots received the 2020 Outstanding Public History Project Award from the National Council on Public History.
Speakers
Lee Bey, architectural critic, photographer, and writer
Tanesha House, speaker, educator, organizational change consultant, and West Side activist
Brad Hunt, historian of housing in Chicago and VP of Research and Academic Programs, Newberry Library
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Past Public Programs
Check out video recordings of past Newberry public programs on our YouTube channel.