1968 Chicago riots
in Chicago, United StatesCategory: Attraction
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4326 Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL 60624, USA Print route »
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The 1968 Chicago riots, in the U.S., were sparked in part by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. King was shot while standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 pm. Violence and chaos followed, with people flooding out onto the streets of major cities. Soon riots began, primarily in black urban areas. Over 100 major U.S. cities experienced disturbances, resulting in roughly $50 million in damage.Rioters and police in Chicago were particularly aggressive, and the damage was severe. Of the 39 people who died in the nationwide disturbances, 34 were black. Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. experienced some of the worst riots following King's assassination. In Chicago itself, more than 48 hours of rioting left 11 Chicago citizens dead, 48 wounded by police gunfire, 90 policemen injured, and 2,150 people arrested. Two miles of Austin on West Madison Street were left in a state of rubble.
There were several fires that burned down a library in 1968.
Later the same year, around the Democratic National Convention, Chicago would once again be a place for political protest and clashes with the authorities.
