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From July 27 to August 2, 1919, a race riot broke out in Chicago after Eugene Williams, a black youth, paddled his raft into "white territory" at the 29th Street beach, and drowned after being hit by a volley of rocks. When the riot finished thirty-eight people were dead, 537 injured and approximately 1000 were left homeless. The incident started when Williams drifted into a white area of the beach on a hot 96 degree day. A nearby white boater threw a rock at him, causing Williams to begin drowning. Whites and blacks prevented the boy from coming safely ashore by throwing rocks at each other. For some time the boy attempted to stay afloat by holding on to a railroad tie but he drowned when he could no longer hold on.
The core reasons for the riot truly began with segregation issues and vicious racism facing Chicago at the time. The riots were later found to be largely instigated and organized by various street gangs, many of which, such as Ragen's Colts, were sponsored by Chicago's political machine, as an excuse to commit theft, robbery, and looting neighborhoods. Most of the rioting, murder, and arson were concentrated in the black neighborhoods but affected areas throughout the city including the Loop.
Of particular interest is the development of drive-by shootings by the white gangs at this time. It is believed that this is one of the earliest incidents of drive-by shootings as a method of gang violence in the United States. Automobiles from which rifle and revolver shots were fired were driven at great speeds throughout neighborhoods inhabited by blacks.
References
- Tuttle, William. Chicago in the Red Summer of 1919, ISBN 0252065867