In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. led his first major campaign outside the South. He came to Chicago to challenge discriminatory housing practices and systemic racism. While the campaign only achieved partial success, it led to the passage of the Fair Housing Act by the U.S. Congress. Here’s a deeper look into this pivotal moment in history on chicago-yes.com.
The African American “Ghetto” in Chicago
King began fighting against racism as uprisings started to erupt outside the South, reflecting the struggles African Americans continually faced. Black Americans were systematically barred from voting, attending schools and universities with white people, and were segregated even in public transportation. The 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles, sparked by a police incident, underscored that legal rights alone weren’t enough to protect African Americans from racism. Activists Albert Raby and James Bevel advised King to launch a campaign in Chicago.
Throughout the 20th century, a variety of measures were used to prevent African Americans from moving into predominantly white neighborhoods. Landlords were forbidden from selling property to Black families. Though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled these restrictive covenants illegal in 1948, discriminatory practices persisted. Real estate speculators used scare tactics to drive down property prices and resell homes to African Americans at inflated prices in a practice known as blockbusting.
Protests and Rallies for Freedom, Equality, and Justice
To draw attention to the poor housing conditions on the West Side, King and his wife Coretta moved into a small three-room apartment in North Lawndale during the winter of 1966. The neighborhood was plagued by gang violence, and many of the stores, owned by white absentee landlords, sold subpar goods at inflated prices. Witnessing this injustice firsthand, King joined the Chicago Freedom Movement. He took on the landlords directly—redirecting rent payments to fund building repairs, forming tenant unions, and leading rent strikes. King also worked with local gangs and boycotted discriminatory businesses.
However, the campaign didn’t gain the momentum King had hoped for. Realizing that taking aggressive action against King would only turn him into a martyr and galvanize public support for the movement, Chicago’s Mayor Richard J. Daley ensured that activists were not arrested. Instead, Daley launched his own efforts to reform housing, building new public housing units, cracking down on slumlords, and initiating pest control campaigns.
As tensions escalated, King and his activists organized marches in predominantly white neighborhoods at the end of July to push for racial equality. They were met with violent resistance from white mobs, who set cars on fire and pelted the protesters with rocks and bottles. During a march in Marquette Park on August 5, King was struck in the head by a rock. Police, under Daley’s orders, protected the protesters. The violent clashes were widely covered by the media, generating public support for King’s cause.
Partial Achievement of the Goal
Negotiations between Mayor Daley and King began in late August 1968. On August 26, a settlement was reached: King would halt the marches, and city leaders would work to make housing more accessible to African Americans. Many of King’s supporters viewed this agreement as a failure, but in reality, it shined a spotlight on housing discrimination, leading Congress to begin drafting fair housing legislation. Two events further pushed the movement forward: First, the Kerner Commission, appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the causes of race riots, recommended passing the Fair Housing Act. Second, on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. His death triggered protests and riots across the country, with fires in Chicago destroying 200 buildings and killing around 10 people.
In response to the chaos, Johnson urged Congress to pass the Fair Housing Act the day after King’s death. Daley also requested federal troops to help suppress the riots. On April 11, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act, banning housing discrimination and encouraging integration. However, the law didn’t fully open housing opportunities for African Americans, as King had envisioned. In 2015, the Obama administration enacted a rule requiring communities to combat segregation, but the Trump administration delayed its implementation in January of this year.
In conclusion, thanks to King’s movement, the U.S. saw the emergence of the first generation of Black politicians and finally put an end to segregation.