Events › The Chicago Race Riot 1919: History, Impacts, Commemoration

Join professor Peter Cole for a talk about the history of the 1919 Chicago Race Riot. The violence started when Eugene Williams, an African American teenager, was stoned and drowned by a white man for floating his raft over an invisible line into a “whites-only” South Side beach in July 1919. This sparked the most violent week in Chicago’s history. You will also learn about how these events are being commemorated throughout the city.

Peter Cole is a professor of history at Western Illinois University and a research associate in the Society, Work and Politics Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Cole is the author of the award-winning Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area and Wobblies on the Waterfront. He is the founder and co-director of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project.

How to Attend 
Register by the start of the event. Chicago Public Library cannot collect personal information online from kids 0 to 13. A parent or guardian’s email address must be used to register. As a reminder, school email addresses may block external emails such as those from CPL.

Accessibility
Need sign language interpretation or other accessibility assistance for this event? Please call (312) 747-8184 or email access@chipublib.org to request accommodations. Requests must be made at least 14 business days before the event.

Photo by Terence Crayton