Dr. King Couldn't Leave Chicago
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. cleans ashes from the apartment at 1321 S. Homan Ave. in Chicago on Feb. 23, 1966
In Coretta Scott King’s autobiography “My Life, My Love, My Legacy” she says the following about the effect Chicago had on her husband, Dr. King:
"He had left Chicago, but Chicago wouldn't leave him. Far too often, he'd seen little children with clothes too skimpy to protect them from the city's harsh winds. A closer look revealed mucus in the corners of their eyes, a reminder that, although they were surrounded by some of the finest medical centers in the world, vitamins and flu shots were luxuries their families could ill afford."
Dr. King, along with Coretta, came to Chicago in 1966 to combat discriminatory housing practices. They moved into a scanty apartment in the Lawndale community. Dr. King was met with extreme resistance. His time in Chicago consisted of him getting hit in the head with a rock and constant tension between him and white political leadership. Dr. King had the following to say about our city:
“I've been in many demonstrations all across the South, but I can say that I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I'm seeing in Chicago.”
Nevertheless, he persisted and Mayor Richard Daley agreed to meet with Dr. King which led to the passing of the Fair Housing Act in 1968. Dr. King took the movement back down South. However, although Dr. King had left Chicago, according to his wife, Chicago wouldn't leave him.
Don’t leave Chicago. Like Dr. King, if you find yourself physically living somewhere else, we hope that Chicago is still on your mind. Especially Bronzeville. We hope that you find yourself engaged in the communal work of making our neighborhood a better place for us all. Wherever you go, whatever you do, don’t leave Chicago.
