Eve L. Ewing’s1919 brings story of Chicago race riots to the stage

On Oct. 12, Assoc. Prof. Eve L. Ewing (right) discussed 1919 and Chicago’s Red Summer at a UChicago event with WEBZ’s Sasha-Ann Simons (left). Photo: Jason Smith.

This story by Tori Lee was originally published by UChicago News on October 24, 2022. Click here to read the full story.

July 27, 1919 was a hot day in Chicago. That afternoon, 17-year-old Eugene Williams was swimming at a public beach when he drifted across an invisible color line extending into Lake Michigan. White beachgoers began throwing stones at him, and Williams drowned.

1919 by Eve L. Ewing | cover art by Brian Dovie Golden

The event sparked a week of violent unrest across the city that reverberated for decades to come. Yet it was a moment that few people, including University of Chicago sociologist and Assoc. Prof. Eve L. Ewing, knew much about.

“I am a born-and-bred Chicagoan. I am nerdy about Chicago history, especially Black history,” Ewing said, who first learned about Williams’ story in graduate school. “I read a lot. If I don't know this, that's real bad.”

During an Oct. 12 conversation with WBEZ’s Sasha-Ann Simons at UChicago’s Logan Center for the Arts, Ewing emphasized that learning about an important historical event for the first time isn’t a cause for shame. “It is a moment to ask yourself: ‘Who is invested in your not knowing? What systems are perpetuated by your not knowing?’”