From July 27 to August 2, 1919, a race riot broke out in Chicago after Eugene Williams, a black youth, drowned at the 29th Street beach. When the riot finished thirty-eight people were dead, 537 injured and approximately 1000 were left homeless. The incident started when Williams drifted into a white area of the beach on a hot 96 degree day. Whites and blacks prevented the boy from coming safely ashore by throwing rocks at each other. For some time the boy attempted to stay afloat by holding on to a railroad tie but he drowned when he could no longer hold on.
The core reasons for the riot truly began with segregation issues and vicious racism facing Chicago at the time. The riots were later to be found laregly organized by white gangs, many of which were sponsored by Chicago's political machine. Most of the rioting, murder, and arson were concentrated in the black neighborhoods but affected areas throughout the city including the Loop.
Of particular interest is the development of drive-by shooting's by the white gangs at this time. It is belived that this is the first known instance of drive-by shootings as a method of gang violence in the United States. Automobiles from which rifle and revolver shots were fired were driven at great speeds throughout neighborhoods inhabited by blacks.
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