Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Arnold, Stanley
Degree Name
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
Legacy Department
Department of History
Abstract
This dissertation tracks the development of a militant core in Chicago’s African American youth community following the lynching of one of the city’s native sons, Emmett Till, in 1955, through the rise of the fight against housing and school segregation and culminating in demands for racial equity in the building trades in 1969. This dissertation will trace how events in Mississippi helped plant the seeds of resistance and shape the trajectory of black activism in Chicago, revealing a powerful link between Southern racial violence and Northern political awakening. The coalitions that emerged in response to Till’s murder laid the foundation for Chicago the civil rights movement to become more militant during the 1960s as it became involved in housing and education struggles. Black youth activism was fueled by both formal organizations such as the Coordinating Council for Community Organizations and the Urban Training Center, and by the self-organizing of politicized youth gangs such as the Blackstone Rangers. This new militancy stimulated the Chicago civil rights movement’s shift from housing and education desegregation to the fight for economic equality by the end of the decade. While scholars often treat the fights for civil rights, housing and educational equity, and employment access as distinct strategic fronts, this dissertation presents these issues as part of a single, interconnected struggle with youth activists at the center.
Recommended Citation
Byrd, Sultaan Edward, "Cut It Out and Cut Us In: The Evolution of Chicago’s Militant African-American Youth Activism During the 1950s and 1960s" (2025). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 8149.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/8149
Extent
230 pages
Language
en
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
