The Chicago Race Riots: July, 1919

by Carl Sandburg, Walter Lippmann (Introduction)

This classic volume of reportage by the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and journalist examines the racial tensions that erupted in the Red Summer of 1919.In July of 1919, a black child swam past the invisible line of segregation at one of Chicago’s public beaches. White men on the shore threw rocks at the boy until he was knocked unconscious and drowned. After police shrugged off demands for those white men to be arrested, riots broke out that would last for days, claim thirty-four lives, and burn down several houses in the city’s “black-belt.”A young reporter for the Chicago Daily News, Carl Sandburg was assigned to cover the story. His series of articles went well beyond a chronicle of the violence of the moment. They explored the complex and incendiary social, economic, and political tensions that finally ignited that summer. This volume of Sandburg’s articles includes an introduction by Walter Lipmann and a foreword by Ralph McGill.

Genres: History, Race, Nonfiction, African American, Politics, American History

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

Free verse poems of known American writer Carl August Sandburg celebrated American people, geography, and industry; alongside his six-volume biography Abraham Lincoln (1926-1939), his collections of poetry include Smoke and Steel (1920).

This best editor won Pulitzer Prizes. Henry Louis Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_San...

Reviews

[Jessica Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 years and we still haven’t learned. Black Lives Matter.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the Popsugar 2020 Summer Reading Challenge in the category of "a book about Black history in America". In 1919 Carl Sandburg (yes, that Carl Sandburg) was a newspaper reporter in Chicago. This book is a compilation of several articles he wrote before and after the Chicago Race Riots in 1919. The articles talk about the migration of Black people from the south to Chicago, the labor situation of these people, and the connection of lynching in the south to the migration to the Chicago area. It is interesting to see a contemporary analysis of the situation which is still pertinent today. 3.5 stars

[Kawabummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written account of the Chicago Race Riots, the post-war racial dynamics and the discrepancies between the north and the south. Recorded and investigated through the eyes of a poet. Great read.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The truth is there ain’t no Negro problem any more than there’s an Irish problem or a Russian or a Polish or a Jewish or any other problem. There is only the human problem. All we demand is the open door. You give us that, and we won’t ask nothin’ more of you.”

Carl Sandburg paints pictures. The cause of the riots was truly heartbreaking. At the same time it was good to learn about the Chicago migration from the South—something I’ve never studied before.

It was interesting to see that among the factory working men, there was no race problem because they were all working side-by-side.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short collection of articles originally published in the Chicago Daily news in 1919. I stumbled across this copy on a family bookshelf which may have been a book from school days - this edition was printed in 1969.
The preface from the ‘69 reprint may have been the most startling damnation - pointing out how little we had learned as a country since 1919. Reading it another 50 (51) years later in 2020, I have to agree. Amidst 2020 BLM protests — “riots” by some trying to create hysteria — it is a disheartening and validating look at the most basic rights our fellow Americans, Black Americans, have been fighting for since emancipation. A telling read through very simple explorations of race issues in 1919 Chicago — employment struggles, labor unions, real estate, northern migration — that I’d recommend to anyone exploring more Black American history.
Worth pointing out that Birth of a Nation was released in 1915 - and some of the quotes pulled from southern newspapers shared within these 1919 articles bring that baseless, barbaric and racist depiction of Black people around that time *right* to the front of the brain. Unlearn. Unlearn. Unlearn.

[Lisa Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, Lipmann preface kind of confusing. Parent review just because it's pretty harsh, especially the section about lynching, but really ties in a ton of different history elements, good "living history" (really, journalism) source for between the wars.

[Steven Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

6 out of 10

[Ollie_le_clodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

French edition (2016, anamosa)

[Elena Câdă · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compilation of news articles written some years back which makes it for an interesting exercise to see the very contemporary analysis and reaction to the migration in Chicago

[Fred Dignazio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting Articles on the Origin of Chicago Race Riots

This is a remarkable account of race relations in the early 20th century written by an eloquent newspaperman, Carl Sandburg. It is based on detailed research, statistics, interviews, and stories about and by individuals. It is very topical today, one hundred years later, in 2019.

[Tamara Tabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing to learn that Carl Sandburg was not only a fantastic poet, but he also was a news reporter who predicted the 1919 Race Riots. Sandburg went into the Black Belt and interviewed residents to understand their ambitions and frustrations.

[Deborah McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every h.s. student in Chicago should read this book. How can we ever bridge the racial divide without understanding the history in our city.

[Joe Brunory · Rating 5 out of 5]

a short collection of newspaper articles by Carl Sandburg before and after the riots of 1919. a cool headed, realistic view of the real problems behind the race issues ninety years ago.

[Jordan Scrivner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A poet's man-on-the-street reportage.

[Pato · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book number 9 for me this year.