smash-pacifism-zine

Chicago Freedom Movement, 1966
Due to the summer riots of the previous three
years, the federal government and corporations began
directing millions of dollars in funding towards programs
for employment and housing (all under the
'War on Poverty'). Some of the main
recipients were the reformist civil rights
groups. This was the ruling class response
to the disorders and disturbances that
threatened their rule. It is no coincidence
that King and the SCLC were now deployed
into the Northern ghettos on a mission of
pacification.
In many cities, part of the 'War on
the Poor' consisted of demolishing massive
apartment blocks and dispersing Black
tenants to other parts of the city. Called
'urban renewal,' many Blacks referred to it
as 'Negro removal.' In 1965, the SCLC
selected Chicago as the most likely place to
launch a successful campaign of nonviolent
civil disobedience and expand their
philosophy out of the South. In Chicago,
this would be focused primarily around
housing. Although legally desegregated, Chicago was
highly divided on racial lines. Blacks occupied ghettoized
regions of the inner city, with high unemployment and
widespread discrimination. Housing and the real estate
market itself was still highly segregated.
SCLC workers acquired apartments in the ghetto,
as did King in a publicity event attended by reporters. The
Chicago Freedom Movement, as it became known, was
established as a coalition of civil rights, anti-poverty,
housing, and other groups (it was also referred to as the
Chicago Open Housing Movement).
In the ghettos, a 'Union to End
Slums' was started, however the SCLC,
“discovered that the black preacher
lacked the singular prestige he enjoyed in the
South, and that the church was an inadequate
organizing tool. Some became dispirited by
the apathy, hostility, and cynicism they
encountered...
“The recruitment of black youths,
who had provided much of SCLC's
demonstration manpower in the South, posed
an especially difficult challenge. The ghettos
were plagued by teenage gangs [who]
displayed hostility towards all established
authority. The gangs were disdainful of the
church, antagonistic towards whites, and
contemptuous of the word 'nonviolence.'... In
Chicago the gangs were larger, stronger, and
more violent” (To Redeem the Soul of
America, p. 288).
King in Chicago, 1966.
55
Although unable to mobilize a mass movement in
the ghetto, the coalition carried out boycotts and pickets of
stores (to force them to hire Blacks). Protests and rallies
were also conducted, and on July 10 one of the largest was
held with as many as sixty thousand
rallying at Soldier Field Stadium
(including celebrities such as Mahalia
Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Peter Paul
and Mary).
Two days later, on July 12, rioting
began in the city's West Side after an
altercation between residents and police.
By July 14, the rioting had spread to 600
city blocks. Amid gunshots, looting, and
clashes with police, two people died. On
July 15, National Guard troops were
deployed. The Mayor publicly blamed
King and the protests for causing the
disorder.
Then, from July 18-23, rioting
broke out in another part of the city.
Despite the riots, the Freedom Movement
continued with plans for their campaign
for 'open housing.' On July 27, a 'prayer
vigil' was held at a real estate office in a white
neighbourhood. That night, a mob of 200 whites attacked
the vigil and drove the protesters away. Over the next two
days, protest marches were held through white
neighbourhoods, where the mobs became larger and threw
rocks and bottles. King demanded more protection, and the
levels of police would dramatically increase.
From August 2-5, more protests were held,
and the mobs got larger. On August 5, as many as 5,000
angry whites rallied in the Gage Park area. Some 1,000
cops protected the 800 protesters, a mix of Blacks and
whites. King himself was hit in the
head with a rock and knocked to the
ground. On August 8, some 1,500
protesters marched, while police and
rain limited the size and activities of
the white mob.
Despite the growing potential for
disturbance, the city powers refused to
negotiate. When King and the Freedom
Movement announced their intention to
march through the notoriously racist
Cicero area on August 27, the mayor
met with King and an agreement was
reached.
While the protests were called off,
the 'Summit Agreement,' as it was
dubbed, was criticized for lacking any
King struck in head by rock,
Chicago's Cicero district, 1966.
time-line for implementation or
challenge to the discriminatory housing
or real estate policies. In October, when