RACIAL JUSTICE & CIVIL RIGHTS
The Midwest Freedom Movement
Brown v. Board
Brown v. Topeka Board of Education was not a southern case — it was a midwestern case.
The lawsuit by Linda Brown’s family in Kansas led the Supreme Court to rule “Separate But Equal” schools were unconstitutional and were essential to the broader Civil Rights Movement.
Brown v. Board
Brown v. Topeka Board of Education was not a southern case — it was a midwestern case.
The lawsuit by Linda Brown’s family in Kansas led the Supreme Court to rule “Separate But Equal” schools were unconstitutional and were essential to the broader Civil Rights Movement.
Emmett Till
Chicago’s African American community, media, and Mamie Till-Mobley turned Emmett’s murder into a transformational moment for racial justice in America.
The Chicago Defender and Jet magazine, at Mamie Till-Mobley’s insistence, published photos of Emmett’s body, disfigured and mutilated by his Mississippi murderers, for all the world to see. Those photos galvanized the racial justice and Civil Rights Movement — just like video of George Floyd’s murder would 65 years later.
Emmett Till
Chicago’s African American community, media, and Mamie Till-Mobley turned Emmett’s murder into a transformational moment for racial justice in America.
The Chicago Defender and Jet magazine, at Mamie Till-Mobley’s insistence, published photos of Emmett’s body, disfigured and mutilated by his Mississippi murderers, for all the world to see. Those photos galvanized the racial justice and Civil Rights Movement — just like video of George Floyd’s murder would 65 years later.
Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
In 1942, African American students sat down at the lunch counter at the Jack Spratt Coffee Shop on Chicago’s South Side.
In 1942, African American students sat at the Jack Spratt Coffee Shop lunch counter on Chicago’s South Side. The management tried to eject them, but the students refused to move. When Chicago police refused the cafe’s request to forcibly remove the students, the restaurant relented and ended its discriminatory practice. The protest’s success soon spread across the Midwest to St. Louis, Iowa, and Kansas — and then the South.
Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
In 1942, African American students sat down at the lunch counter at the Jack Spratt Coffee Shop on Chicago’s South Side.
In 1942, African American students sat at the Jack Spratt Coffee Shop lunch counter on Chicago’s South Side. The management tried to eject them, but the students refused to move. When Chicago police refused the cafe’s request to forcibly remove the students, the restaurant relented and ended its discriminatory practice. The protest’s success soon spread across the Midwest to St. Louis, Iowa, and Kansas — and then the South.
MLK’s Midwest Crusade
In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. staged the Chicago Freedom Movement, his first and only civil rights crusade outside the South.
The campaign targeted housing discrimination, with protests spreading to Milwaukee and other cities. It led to King’s final legislative victory, the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The hostility King confronted led him to say, “I have never seen mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I’m seeing in Chicago.”
MLK’s Midwest Crusade
In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. staged the Chicago Freedom Movement, his first and only Civil Rights crusade outside the South.
The campaign targeted housing discrimination, with protests spreading to Milwaukee and other cities. It led to King’s final legislative victory, the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The hostility King confronted led him to say, “I have never seen mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I’m seeing in Chicago.”