Local News

Marking 40 Years Since Martin Luther King's Death

A Look Back At Race Relations In A Historically Segregated City

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Friday marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His violent death traumatized the nation, and riots broke out in many cities, including Chicago, where Dr. King lived briefly.

CBS 2's Jim Williams looks back at one of the darkest days in American history, and examines how attitudes on race have changed since Dr. King died.

To students at Walter Payton Prep High School in Chicago, Dr. King's story is a history lesson.

"My image of Dr. King is a combination of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the speech, 'I Have a Dream,'" said Elizabeth Lopez.

"My images of Dr. King would be heroic," said Grant Beard. "He, to me, was the Civil Rights movement."

Other, older Chicagoans knew the man himself. Bishop Arthur Brazier was here when Dr. King lived in Chicago in 1966.

"He was a very young man, but he commanded respect," Brazier said.

Dr. King and his colleagues wanted to confront racial discrimination in the north, and felt Chicago -- with a history of segregation -- was the ideal place.

"I think there was a recognition that we had to shed light on the challenges that faced African Americans in the north," said University of Illinois at Chicago Professor Tyrone Forman.

Dr. King pushed for open housing in Chicago, leading marches into all-white neighborhoods and facing hostile crowds in Marquette Park. Dr. King himself was struck by a rock.

"Lots of people concerned about the safety of King, so this becomes a really big rally for local activists," Forman said.

Less than two years later, on April 4th, 1968, King was assassinated in Memphis.

Riots erupted in Chicago on the South and West sides. Along Madison Street alone, blocks and blocks went up in flames. Eleven people died, 500 were hurt and countless businesses were destroyed.

"Most people that I talked to could not understand, really why were burning down our neighborhoods," Brazier said.

Four decades later the Payton Prep students see the tension in the presidential campaign over race and gender, and they wonder: What would Dr. King think if he were alive now?

"He would think, we haven't really gotten that much further from where we were in the '60s," said Elizabeth Alexander.

But older Americans insist the young haven't lived long enough to see just how much progress has been made since Dr. King died.

"There is no comparison between Chicago today and 1968," Brazier said.

Though Dr. King lived in Chicago for a short time, many historians believe his efforts here helped inspire the 1968 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial, ethnic and religious discrimination in housing. President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill exactly one week after Dr. King's assassination.

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