New book details the violent and riotous summer of 1919

New book details the violent and riotous summer of 1919
Homes in the Black Belt were ransacked and burned during the riotous summer of 1919. Photo courtesy of the Chicago History Museum
New book details the violent and riotous summer of 1919
Homes in the Black Belt were ransacked and burned during the riotous summer of 1919. Photo courtesy of the Chicago History Museum

New book details the violent and riotous summer of 1919

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Like temperatures, violence can spike during the summer months. In the summer of 1919 both both boiled. Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America is a detailed narrative account of the violent flood of anti-black riots and lynchings that consumed the country—and paralyzed the city of Chicago for a week—during the summer of 1919. WBEZ’s Richard Steele recently spoke to the book’s author, Cameron McWhirter. The Wall Street Journal reporter is a Chicago native; he began by telling Steele what sparked the riots in Chicago.

Music Button: Tosca, “Busenfreund”, from the CD Suzuki, (G-Stone)