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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Following World War I, during the summer and fall
3of 1919, race riots occurred in more than three dozen cities,
4including Chicago; it was branded the "Red Summer" because the
5riots resulted in some of the worst violence in United States
6history; and
 
7    WHEREAS, After World War I, an estimated 100,000 black
8veterans moved North, where they still encountered
9segregation, racism, and inequality; in Chicago, the "presence
10and inspiration of black veterans, particularly those of the
11370th Infantry Regiment" was critical to black Chicagoans
12forced to "defend themselves from white aggression; and
 
13    WHEREAS, One of the most severe race riots occurred in
14Chicago between July 25, 1919 and August 3, 1919; the riot was
15triggered when a black teen was stoned to death after crossing
16an invisible boundary between a segregated part of the Chicago
17beaches; when police refused to arrest the white man whom black
18observers held responsible for the incident, crowds began to
19gather at the beach; the riot left 38 people dead, more than
20500 injured, and 1,000 black families homeless after fires
21burned their homes; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The Red Summer marked a new era of black

 

 

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1resistance to white injustice, with African Americans standing
2up in unprecedented numbers and killing some of their
3tormenters; researchers believe that in a span of ten months
4more than 250 African Americans were killed in at least 25
5riots across the United States; the white mobs never faced
6punishment; many African American soldiers returning from the
7war were outspoken against the racial discrimination,
8inequality, and violence that continued to plague black
9communities; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Black journalists, including Ida B. Wells, played
11an important role in getting the story told; black newspapers,
12like the Chicago Defender, were instrumental in providing an
13alternate voice that represented why African Americans
14deserved to be here, deserved equal rights, and were, in some
15cases, justified in fighting; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Nearly 100 years later, not many people know about
17the events of the Red Summer; there are no national
18observances, history textbooks ignore it, and most museums do
19not acknowledge it; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
21HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
22we declare July 29, 2019 as "Red Summer Remembrance Day" in the
23State of Illinois in remembrance of the 100th anniversary of

 

 

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1the Red Summer and urge the City of Chicago to erect a monument
2that includes the names of the victims on the site of the riot
3along with additional historical signage placed on highway,
4street, and expressway signs leading to the site; and be it
5further
 
6    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
7presented to Governor JB Pritzker, Illinois Attorney General
8Kwame Raoul, and Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot.