The Incident: A Day at the Beach

The Incident: A Day at the Beach

In the decade before World War I, Chicago established sharp and well-understood boundary lines that separated an expanding black population from other citizens. On July 29, 1919, a group of three African-American boys hopped a ride on the back of a produce truck and crossed the boundary line on their way to Lake Michigan. On that very hot and humid July day, the boys intended to join a friend at a secluded spot where they had hidden a homemade raft. At two o’clock, they began playing in Lake Michigan at the spot located between the beach for blacks at Twenty-Fifth Street and the beach at Twenty-Ninth Street which was “unofficially” reserved for whites. Unknown to the boys, earlier in the day, several black men and women had tried unsuccessfully to integrate the white beach. Whites and blacks began throwing rocks at each other. As the raft drifted south, a white man threw stones at the boys. One rock hit Eugene Williams in the forehead. After struggling in the water, Williams drowned. The white man ran for safety toward Twenty-Ninth Street, while the boys sought help from the black lifeguard at Twenty-Fifth Street. After recovering Williams’ body, the boys and a crowd of angry black men marched with a black policeman to find the white man who had thrown the rock. At Twenty-Ninth Street, they encountered a white police officer who refused to arrest a white suspect. He arrested a black man instead. The crowd began fighting. When a patrol wagon arrived, a black man named James Crawford drew a revolver and shot at the police. A black officer returned fire and killed Crawford. It was the beginning of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919.