Communities in Chicago

In contrast to the polite and genteel story of Savannah, Mike Royko’s book, BOSS Richard J. Daley of Chicago, paints a much grittier story of one man climb to the top of the Democratic political machine. Daley’s rise is not the story of a privileged young man groomed to power, but the tale of a small town boy driven and ambitious enough to move himself up through the ranks of his party to become both leader of his party and mayor of his city. Daley’s ascent to power came from a combination of opportunity and drive to succeed. Boss is a biography of a man, but also a political commentary on city politics. Daley represented both the best and worst of Chicago, he improved and renovated the city and he ignored the rampant corruption of the city’s

Many left to the North because it was a place “…where there are no lynchings” (Sandburg 15), a place where they could be safe. The black population in Chicago lived in an area known as the “black belt.” The Negro Migration caused the population in the Chicago “black belt” to more than double from 50,000 to 125,000 making Chicago have the third or fourth largest black population next to New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington (7).

Chicago from the1920s through the 1940s was the melting pot of America, with its multitude of vastly different people and different types of housing and living conditions. Around the early 1920s in Chicago, 80 percent of the undeveloped city were immigrants from Europe and their children. A majority of the houses in Chicago in the 1920s were set up to improve immigrants’ living conditions. These houses were often large complexes in which immigrants lived together in and were provided meals and tutoring in English. After World War I ended in 1918, many people moved from small rural communities in the Midwest to Chicago. This resulted in the construction of many large apartment buildings in place of old townhouses. In large cities like Chicago,

During the mid-20th century there was much racial discrimination, specifically in home ownership. During this period there was mass immigration of Southern blacks to the north. In Lawndale Chicago, there was adverse reactions to this. As the

I lived my early years in a suburb of Chicago (LaGrange) that was all white, as far as I knew. There was a part of town that was literally “across the tracks.” I’m not sure of the racial

During the time of the civil rights movement, milwaukee was considered to be one of the most segregated cities at the time. An extensive amount of African American had moved to the city during and after world war II, and by the time of the civil rights movement, the black community had accounted for 15 percent of Milwaukee’s population . It isn’t a surprise that majority of African Americans in Milwaukee lived in the north side of the city, which accumulated increasing volatility due to limited job opportunities, poverty, and segregation.Racial segregation in Milwaukee and around the world has always been a phenomenon with intricate historical roots. The complex history of slavery, employment discrimination, tax inequity, redlining, discriminatory housing policies, and multiple other issue have lead Milwaukee to be segregated. Despite the fact that Milwaukee’s has a unique history, social forces and government policies created and reinforced residential segregation throughout the united states, so why is Milwaukee worse than most cities in America? Well suburban housing is more expensive than city housing and another thing that distinguishes metro Milwaukee from other areas is the incredible racial disparity in median household incomes in metro Milwaukee, which prevents many minorities from being able to afford suburban housing. So segregation is a huge problem in the milwaukee metro area because of the racial disparity in median household incomes, education, and

One of Erik Larson’s main ways of building the black and white cities is through figurative language. Larson expresses that Chicago is “likened...to a human being with his skin removed”

Chicago, Illinois was a popular city in the early United States. Chicago was a center for trade due to the water sources running through it. The two rivers located in Chicago, the Chicago River and the Des Plaines River, connected the city to the Mississippi river and Lake Michigan. Railroads through Chicago also helped it become a transportation center in the United States. Thousands of immigrants came to Chicago every year. Settlers and visitors arrived constantly by wagon, ship, or even train. There were around ten railroads that congregated in the city. Many people saw Chicago as a great opportunity. Merchants, tradesmen, and business from the East Coast scrambled to the new businesses opportunities in the city. In 1870, only one year before the Great Fire, around 300,000 people lived in Chicago.

Erik Larson’s book Devil in the White City is full of magic and madness that has shaped the society of the late 19th century that is specific to in Chicago. The issues that have been handled through this time frame that are addressed in this book is that how Chicago was known to be the black city at first, and how the city hoped that hosting the World’s fair would increase their reputation. Secondly, the magic of a man named Daniel Burnham that did put the plans of the world fair in Chicago into life and the obstacles that he had overcame. Next, once the world fair was complete, it has made Chicago “The White city,” by its dazzling designs and attractions that made it memorable. Then, the madness of H.H. Holmes and how his evil deeds has

Chicago in the 1920s was a turning point for the development of ethnic neighborhoods. After the opening of the first rail connection from New York to Chicago in the 1840s, immigration sky rocketed from that point on. Majority of the immigrants to Chicago were Europeans. The Irish, Italians, eastern European Jews, Germans, and Mexicans were among the most common ethnicities to reside in Chicago. These groups made up the greater part of Chicago. The sudden increase in immigration to Chicago in the 1920s soon led to an even further distinguished separation of ethnicities in neighborhoods. The overall development of these neighborhoods deeply impacted how Chicago is sectioned off nowadays. Without these ethnicities immigrating to Chicago

Segregation proved to be powerful in the city as to this day the South Side still shows remnants of the “Black Belt.” Figure [2] below shows racial demographics of a recent census of Chicago and the resemblance to the map of covenants in figure [1] can clearly be seen. Chicago’s role as a home for it’s residents proved positive for some but problematic for most. A system that always favored the wealthy and white was true for the city and while some areas were strong enough to fight this trend, as a whole Chicago was

After WW II, Chicago’s Housing Authorities chose to construct more public housing options for its Chicago residents. The Public Housing Administration highly advised against building high-rises for Chicago families. However, money was very limited for this project which soon became a huge factor in the while planning and constructing new public housing. Despite Daley’s attempt to build the Taylor homes as a low-rise project, construction began on the high-rises in 1960, which would later become the longest housing project in the world. Some speculate that low-high rises would have been built adorably, if the land on the outskirts of the city had been made available. However, a white alderman opposed the idea of having blacks occupy houses in the same wards as them. During construction it was estimated that that average family contained roughly six people. But, realistically that was an inaccurate estimate, as extended families often lived in these apartments. Overtime, the housing projects became horrific and overcrowded with problem tenants. “One resident complained in 1965: The World looks on all of us project rats, living on a reservation like untouchables (Pacyga, Chicago, 334).” In addition to the housing problems, citizens accused Daley of purposely segregating the housing projects from the rest of Chicago (Daley:  The Last Boss). Citizens claim that the Dan Ryan Expressway route was shifted to reinforce the border between Daley's native Bridgeport and the Black Belt to the east (Encyclopedia, Chicago). Shortly after Martin Luther King’s death, looting and rioting swept through Chicago Black west side. Mayor Daley, issued an order that was broadcast: “shoot to kill any arsonist … with a Molotov cocktail in his hand." This did not settle well with the Chicago community and especially the Africa-American people. Daley is often remembered as one of Chicago’ most powerful

There was also a big influx of blacks to Chicago. The numbers of blacks migrating to Chicago was tremendous. Many reasons Tuttle states are the cause for this. The major one is just blacks wanting to leave the south. They wanted to leave the segregated south in hope of a better future. They were tired of the Jim Crow laws, lynching, poor school, and constant harassment. A black said, “Anywhere north will do us”(Tuttle, 79). Another reason was jobs. In the time of war, the big manufactories trying to keep up with the needs of the military were in dire needs of people to work. There were actual labor recruiters whose job was to go out and recruit blacks to work in the factories. Moreover, when the opportunity to work opened up blacks took them in full demand. It was a way out of the south.

     Between 1910 and 1920, in a movement known as the Great Migration, hundreds of thousands of African Americans uprooted from their homes in the South and moved North to the big cities in search of jobs. They left the South because of racial violence and economic discrimination. Their migration was an expression of their changing attitudes toward themselves, and has been described as "something like a spiritual emancipation." Many migrants moved to Harlem, a neighborhood on the upper west side of Manhattan. In the 1920's, Harlem became the worlds largest black community; also home to a highly diverse mix of cultures. This unprecedented outburst of creative activity exposed their unique culture and encouraged

INTRO Do you think social issues still occur in your world today? Just by walking through the neighborhood, issues are able to be seen. Some examples would be family issues, gender inequalities, and economic disparity. While seeing social injustice through three different books, access to housing was very intriguing. Living conditions can vary based on your race. After realizing this, a question came to mind: is my local area segregated like the rest of the world?