Marching in Cicero
West Suburbs
Video Running Time 8:01
In 1965 and 1966, the Chicago Freedom Movement demanded an end to discrimination in housing and other areas of civic life in what became the largest civil rights campaign in the North. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a rally at Soldier Field on July 10, 1966 and regular marches and rallies continued throughout the summer in different areas of the city. These acts were often met with a violent response by white residents, which King described as more hostile than he’d experienced anywhere else.
Activists, city leaders, and representatives of the Chicago Real Estate Board reached an agreement on August 26 that outlined steps toward opening up housing opportunities to black residents in metropolitan Chicago. This agreement was not enough for some activists, who decided to go ahead with previously announced plans to hold a march in Cicero, an all-white suburb.
Cicero had been the scene of violence 15 years earlier when an African American family moved into town, attempting to be the city’s first Black residents. A mob of thousands responded by setting fire to the apartment building.
On September 4, 1966, Robert L. Lucas, Chicago chairman of Congress of Racial Equality, led 250 marchers to Cicero. The protesters were met by 2,700 National Guard troops and 700 police officers holding back a mob of angry white residents who would throw insults and bricks at the marchers.
The Chicago Freedom Movement and its violent response raised awareness of the racism that existed throughout the country and led to the passing of the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
Filmmakers from Film Group, Inc documented the events of the civil rights march in the only significant footage of the event. They released the documentary in 1969 as an educational resource. In 2013, the film was selected to be added to the National Film Registry.
