Eugene Williams Drowned
On July 27, 1919, temperatures in Chicago soared well into the nineties. On that day, a group of African American teenagers decided to go to Lake Michigan for a swim. Charles Williams and Lawrence Williams were brothers. John Harris and Paul Williams lived nearby on the South Side. Eugene Williams lived farther north and met the group at the beach. Like much of Chicago, color lines also carved out the beaches of Lake Michigan. Typically, 25th Street Beach was patronized by African Americans, while 29th Street Beach was patronized by white residents. On that day the boys decided to swim near a beach between 25th and 29th Street. The boys found a shabby raft to float and hang onto because they were amateur swimmers. While the boys were swimming, another situation was developing nearby at 29th Street beach, as several Black men and women ignored the color line and decided to swim at the white beach. This led to a clash between African Americans and whites on the beach, as rocks, curses, and threatening gestures erupted. This conflict extended to the boys as an unidentified white man began throwing rocks at them while they swam. The boys managed to dodge most of the rocks, but tragically, one rock hit Eugene Williams in the head, causing him to drown.
Thirty minutes later, divers recovered Eugene’s body. By that time anger had begun to replace panic. The boys pointed out the man that they suspected was responsible for throwing rocks, however, the police officer on duty, Daniel Callahan, refused to make an arrest. As this was happening, some of the boys ran to 29th Street Beach to inform others about what had occurred. Soon a rumor spread that Officer Callahan had not only caused Eugene’s death by preventing expert swimmers from rescuing him, but that he had even held his gun on African Americans and permitted white rioters to throw bricks at them. Consequently, hundreds of angry African Americans and whites swarmed the beach. Allegedly, an African American man named James Crawford drew a revolver and fired into a cluster of policemen. Police officers responded with gunfire, starting what would be the beginning of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919.
