Artists Highlight Lasting Impact of Chicago's 1919 Race Riot with Glass Markers
The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project has been working for years to install memorials across the city in honor of those killed during the violent event. The newest pieces were unveiled during a walking tour in Chicago’s Loop on Saturday.
Remembering Paul Hardwick
In the heart of downtown, the corner of Adams Street and Wabash Avenue is a familiar passage for theatergoers and festival visitors. But for Paul Hardwick, it was the site of his final moments more than a century ago.
Hardwick, an African American man working at the Palmer House hotel, was pursued by a mob of about thirty white attackers. He was shot, beaten, and robbed in the summer of 1919—one of thirty-eight lives lost in what became the Chicago Race Riot of that year.
“He was long forgotten as one of 38 people killed in the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, which historians say is not often taught or discussed.”
Commemoration Through Art
Today, Hardwick is remembered through a sleek glass marker at the place where he died. The installation is part of a broader initiative by The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project.
Volunteers have been embedding brick-shaped glass memorials into sidewalks throughout the city, precisely at the locations where each victim was killed. Each piece has been made by young people who have experienced the effects of violence firsthand.
Community and Creativity
The artworks were guided by Firebird Community Arts, an organization based in East Garfield Park known for its trauma-informed programs that use art as a tool for healing.
So far, nineteen memorial markers have been set in place, with Paul Hardwick’s plaque among the most recent additions honoring the victims of 1919.
Author’s summary: Artists and community groups in Chicago are preserving the memory of 1919 race riot victims through glass markers that merge remembrance, public art, and healing.