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Sean Civil Rights movement in Chicago. Chicago was one of the many large cities that the Civil Rights Movement targeted. They were one of the first people to ban racially segregated schools with a vote in 1874, and the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 1885. A large part of the movement there was done by the CCCO, or the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, around 1965 which banded together many of the already large desegregationist groups, which were mostly non-violent. After that, in 1966 and 1968 there were violent Black Panther uprisings. While these were occurring Martin Luther King also brought his peaceful protests to the city. One of his most famous marches in Marquette park happened, were he was hit in the head by a brick.



A video of the movement in Chicago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKbpYXCibzQ

Ralph, James. "Civil Rights Movements." //Encyclopedia of Chicago//. Web. 30 May 2011. .

James, Frank. "Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago - Chicagotribune.com." //Chicago Tribune: Chicago News, Sports, Weather and Traffic - Chicagotribune.com//. Chicago Tribune. Web. 30 May 2011. .

Questions How old were you When Martin Luther King came to Chicago in 1960's? I'd have been about 35-40 years old. What was your social status at the time? It was the same as any black man, lived with other black families, didn't have any respect from the whites. Were you employed during the time? Yes, I was one of the few. I worked as a garbage collector because none of the white boys wanted to. What was your life like during the 60's? It was tough, tough on everybody, tough to make money and keep it. Family was just starting, this was right around when your mama was born. How active were you in the civil rights movement? I was at a few marches here and there. Which protest do you most remember from that time? I remember when they were marching through marquette park. I wasn't in it, but I watched all the footage, and I had some friends hurt in it. Which side of the movement were you on, violent, or non-violent? I didn't want to kill nobody, but it was going too slow, and I didn't want your mama and Ronny to grow up in this. Did you know how close you were to getting your rights? No, I couldn't think of what it would be like being equals, it just wasn't the way it was back then. What event did you think finally made you equal? I couldn't say, there wasn't one event to immediately give us equality, but it was a build up to it. Did you face any white aggression? It wasn't them comin' after us, they mostly stayed away, didn't want anything to do with us.

Reflection Reading about a average person's life in a history book is one thing, but having a real person talk of their own situations and their own emotions truly shows what their life was like. I learned that although not in the south, were most of the civil rights Movement was taking place, Chicago did have an active role in the Movement. My grandfather Burnis Hayes did participate in the movement, sometimes through marching, and other times through just support of it. I learned why some people decided to turn to violence instead of peace. His response to some questions showed my how it must have felt to finally be considered equal,but also showed the hardships of waiting for that day to come. He told me of how there wasn't one time when they were just immediately equal, but it was a gradual process to achieve their goals. The Civil Rights Movement impacted my grandfather in an unimaginable magnitude, along with many other members of the black population. In conclusion, the interview gave insight to the real life of a black man at the time.