Historic Highlights: King led civil rights demonstrations in Illinois in 1966

During the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, many of the largest – and bloodiest – demonstrations were in the South. A series of violent clashes in Illinois in 1966, however, surprised even Martin Luther King Jr. himself.

The Chicago Freedom Movement, Dr. King’s first major initiative outside the South, resulted in several angry confrontations, including one that left King injured. He later remarked that he had “never seen anything so hostile and so hateful.”

Not surprisingly, Chicago was home to the highest concentration of African-American residents in the state, especially on the south and west side. The African-American population of Chicago increased by 300,000 in the 1960s, and Cook County was home to more Blacks than any county in the nation. More Blacks lived in Chicago than in the whole state of Mississippi, where many of the worst moments in the civil rights struggle originated.

Periodic race riots stemmed from the unrest, particularly in August 1965, when violence on Chicago’s west side caused 80 injuries.

The problems in Chicago, considered by some the nation’s most segregated large city, were closely observed by King, who believed he could work with powerful Mayor Richard Daley to create change. King declared that “if we can break the system in Chicago, it can be broken any place in the country.”

The autocratic Daley, however, proved a formidable challenge. Though lauded for some public policies toward Blacks, the mayor worked for the separation of Blacks and whites, approving huge housing projects in ghettos and supporting segregation in public schools.

King arrived in Chicago in January 1966 and promptly moved into a tenement flat on the west side. Over the next several months, he organized several marches in white neighborhoods. As part of his “End Slums” effort, his marchers commandeered a rundown apartment building to demonstrate living conditions for minority tenants with white absentee owners.

Protesters harassed the marchers in many instances, including one particularly brutal exchange in August at Marquette Park, where King was struck in the head by a stone. He ruefully said, “I have seen many demonstrations in the South, but I have never seen anything so hostile and so hateful as I’ve seen here today.”

King and Daley finally came to terms on an open-housing agreement, which was viewed as a failure by many Blacks in Chicago. King himself later conceded that his Chicago efforts were unsuccessful.

The Chicago Freedom Movement was the most notable episode for King in Illinois. He also made several speaking appearances around the state during his lifetime, including three speeches at the University of Chicago between 1956-66 and an address at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights in June 1964 at Soldier Field. In July 1965, he appeared before a large audience on the Winnetka Village Green, north of Chicago.

Downstate, King was the featured speaker at a convocation at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington on Feb. 10, 1966.

When King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, rioting spread across Illinois, especially in Chicago, where three days of violence killed nine, injured 500 and resulted in 3,000 arrests. Violence also erupted in Evanston, Maywood, Joliet, Aurora, Chicago Heights, East St. Louis, Alton and Carbondale.

Today, landmarks named for King are found across the state, including streets in Alton, Springfield, Decatur, Rock Island, East Moline and Chicago. Several schools, including in Urbana, are also named in his honor. Nationwide, over 116 public schools are named for King.

Similarly, a statue of Dr. King at the corner of Second and Capitol in Springfield is one of many memorials nationwide to the slain civil rights leader.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.