The Chicago Race Riot of 1964 was actually centered in Dixmoor, Illinois, a suburb southwest of the city.  By 1960 Dixmoor had less than 4,000 residents. Of that population over 50 percent of its residents were black. A large portion of Dixmoor’s black population were recently arrived migrants from Mississippi, Tennessee, and other southern states. This increase in population placed a heavy strain on the struggling black community.  Like African Americans nationwide, Dixmoor’s black residents were twice as likely to face poverty as local whites, and almost three times as likely to become unemployed.  Local whites often promoted discrimination in employment and housing segregation.  These practices intensified racial tensions between black and white Dixmoor residents which reached a boiling point in 1964. Continue reading Revisit: CHICAGO RIOTS