Chicago Race Riot: 38 Killed, 537 Injured, 1,000 Homes Burned Over 13 Days

On July 27, 1919, Eugene Williams, a Black teenager, drowned in Lake Michigan after white beachgoers threw rocks at him when he drifted toward the white beach at 29th Street. Police refused to arrest the white man identified as responsible. The incident ignited 13 days of riots in which 38 people were killed (23 Black, 15 white), 537 were injured, and more than 1,000 Black families were made homeless when their homes were burned. Irish gangs from the 'athletic clubs' were primary aggressors. Illinois National Guard was eventually called. The riot cemented residential segregation patterns that persisted for a century.