The Causes of the Chicago Race Riot –Walter White
Source: From “The Causes of the Chicago Race Riot,” by Walter White, October 1919. This article was published in The Crisis, an African-American newspaper. The author was a leader of the NAACP, an organization devoted to protecting African-American rights. In a number of cases during the period from January, 1918, to August, 1919, there were bombings of colored homes and houses occupied by Negroes outside of the “Black Belt.” During this period no less than twenty bombings took place, yet only two persons have been arrested and neither of the two has been convicted, both cases being continued. Since 1915 the colored population of Chicago has more than doubled, increasing in four years from a little over 50;000 to what is now estimated to be between 125;000 and 150; 000. Most of them lived in the area bounded by the railroad on the west, 30th Street on the north, 40th Street on the south and Ellis Avenue on east. Already overcrowded, this so-called “Black Belt” could not possibly hold the doubled colored population. One cannot put ten gallons of water in a five-gallon pail. Although many Negroes had been living in “white” neighborhoods, the increased exodus from the old areas created an hysterical group of persons who formed “Property Owners’ Associations” for the purpose of keeping intact white neighborhoods....
Questions:
1. Sourcing: Who wrote this document? When? For what audience?
2. Close Reading: According to this document, what caused the Chicago Race Riots of 1919?
