Chicago Documenters surveyed family, friends and community members to explore parallels between the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the one taking place in 2024.
by Susan Ellis, Pachina Fletcher, James Klososky, Tammara Lockhart, Robyn Meurkson and Angela Ybarra
The National Guard lined up alongside demonstrators at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Sept. 1, 1968, in Chicago. (Photo Fred Mason/Liberation News Service)
In many ways, Chicago in 2024 feels eerily reminiscent of the volatile political landscape of 1968.
Anti-war protests have erupted in the streets and on college campuses. The Democratic establishment has undergone rapid transformation with the introduction of a new presidential ticket just months before Election Day.
To delve deeper, 13 Chicago Documenters paused their regularly scheduled reporting on local public meetings in late July to seek out untold stories of Chicagoans during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. You can learn more about the process in our Notebook blog.
These Documenters, who hail from neighborhoods across the city and range in age from 23 to 70, interviewed their neighbors, siblings and co-workers and discovered some remarkable stories about that tumultuous time in our city’s history.
Here are excerpts from those discussions.
Interviews have been edited and condensed.
‘Was it really radical?’
Orrin Williams, 75, is a longtime food justice advocate and was in college during the 1968 DNC. Traveling home for spring break in April of that year, he saw empty streets and destroyed businesses along South Cottage Grove as he approached his Chatham home, writes Documenter Susan Ellis. What he didn’t know, after a day-long bus ride, was that Martin Luther King Jr. had been fatally shot. “I never felt safe,” after King’s death, Williams said. “And this is the same thing you hear Black folk talk about, to this very moment. Chicago is and has been one of the most segregated cities in America.”
Tell us more about protesting in 1968.
They were protesting the oppression of Black folk in particular, no question about it. The fallacy is that the North was some sort of paradise or retreat from the tyranny and tragedy of the experience of Black folk in the United States and elsewhere. But they were protesting the post-plantation era and what was the result of Jim Crow, whether it was in the South or in the North.
What do you recall about Mayor Richard J. Daley at the time?
I remember him vividly. He was the “old guy” mayor then, and there were all the machinations that were going on during the convention. I remember his reaction to people at the convention bringing up the events happening in Grant Park with what is known in my circle during those days, and even now, as a police riot.
[When it came to Daley’s “shoot-to-kill” order], Daley was not alone in the sense of [thinking] these things shouldn’t be allowed to occur. That was a widespread sentiment due to the civic unrest that occurred across this country. And now, you see the Republicans and everybody else wanting to tamp down, and even make protesting just illegal generally. You’ve seen since 1968 the militarization of police departments all over the country.
Were you part of a militant group in the ’60s?
You had to be part of a militant group. That was just your stance. And was it really militant or radical? Is it really militant to stand against oppression, to be against enslavement, to be against colonialism and imperialism? Perhaps, in the minds of some people, that is a militant and radical stance as opposed to standing for human rights.
‘Hundreds of people from different walks of life’
Sheila Arnold graduated high school in June 1968, at a time when protests and police brutality were frequently making headlines. The anti-war teenager worked two jobs, at a restaurant and a women’s shelter, and would soon attend what was then known as the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle campus, she told Documenter Pachina Fletcher.
What was the news like in 1968?
I was a big news watcher. The news was biased. The local news didn’t show the city as it really was. I always take the news with a grain of salt; it’s difficult to get a clear picture without going to a lot of different sources.
Can you share about your experience in downtown Chicago during the DNC in August 1968?
Me and my boyfriend were curious about what was going on in Grant Park, so we decided to take the train. We saw hundreds of people there from different walks of life: hippies, yuppies, Black Panthers, protesters, political activists and stoners. The ages of the young people were probably from 16 to 30 years old.
There were many police officers present, wearing those white helmets, looking anxious and nervous, not knowing what would happen. Near the overpass, we saw the National Guard with tanks and Jeeps.
While in the park, we heard speeches and people shouting different slogans. They were telling everyone how to protect themselves if the police used tear gas — they said wet a bandana and tie it around your face.
After staying in the park awhile, we decided to go into the hotel where the convention was being held. Protestors were moving to the hotel side of the street. The situation was feeling tense and dangerous. We decided to leave and got on a packed train to go north. We had been on the train for about 30 minutes when a young man got on and said that a riot had started in Grant Park. When I got home, I saw all what happened on the news.
‘I want to hear what you’ve got to say’
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Barbara Rakestraw, 73, longs for the return of civility to national politics. Rakestraw grew up in southwest suburban Downers Grove and currently lives in Glendale Heights. She spoke with Documenter Robyn Meurkson about the political climates, 56 years apart.
What were your ties to Chicago growing up?
I had aunts and uncles who lived there, and two of my uncles were police officers in the city. [Mayor Richard J.] Daley would hand down orders. Even today, if the mayor wants something taken care of, and he wants it from the police department, they have to abide by it. If not, it could be their jobs [on the line].
My uncle didn’t want to [pull out his gun during protests], but if it came down to it, he had to, because it was an order. He was like us, believing everybody needs a fair shake in the world. I was taught that you always help your neighbors, no matter if they’re old or young. My uncles would never tell any horror stories; they only said that they were just praying that they would never have to fire that gun.
Are your kids into politics?
They’re like me: I want to hear what you’ve got to say. That’s the way I raised them. My husband wasn’t a Democrat or Republican, he just wanted to hear, “What are you going to do for me?” I think [politicians] lost that a long time ago.
What is the difference between events that took place in 1968 versus today?
I just hope there is no more rioting. Those protests in the ’60s took place in what used to be a beautiful setting, and they burned down almost two blocks of it. What did that accomplish? That is what I don’t get. Why can’t we all just start sitting down and sort out these problems, you know?
Young "hippie" standing in front of a row of National Guard soldiers, across the street from the Hilton Hotel at Grant Park, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, August 26, 1968. (Photo: Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress)
‘It’s a very divided country’
Samuel Ybarra was 9 years old when Chicago hosted the DNC in 1968. Despite their political divide, the lifelong Chicagoan spoke with his sister, Documenter Angela Ybarra, about the present day compared to their blue-collar upbringing on the Northwest Side. There were struggles to afford Catholic school and care for eight children, and Samuel recalls coming home to change and do chores before going outside “until the streetlights called you home,” Angela said.
Do you see any parallels between the 1968 DNC and that of 2024?
It’s a completely different world now. I don’t know about any parallels, other than there’s a lot of turmoil, again. In fact, it’s probably even worse now than it was back then. At least back then, people had dialogue, they talked to each other. And now, all Democrats hate all Republicans, and vice versa. At least that’s how it seems. It’s a very divided country.
Did you see anything happen during the DNC protests?
Me and my cousin Joseph went to the corner of Noble Street and Division near our house, and there was an empty lot there. Inside the lot, we saw four National Guard Jeeps and a couple of trucks. The Jeeps all had two men each dressed in camouflage and carrying their weapons. I distinctly remember looking down Division toward Cabrini-Green, which was not too far, and we could see fires burning.
We went across the street to see what these National Guard troops were doing there. Being little kids, we just asked them, “Hey, what are you guys doing here?” They told us they’re there to protect that bridge, because no one was going to cross over toward us.
In the months leading up to the 1968 DNC, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were both killed. What do you remember about that time?
Especially if you were Catholic, a lot of people were really upset about [John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963]. Robert, I remember more clearly. That was one I actually kind of felt, because I just could not believe that President Kennedy had a brother that was running for president and he got killed too.
It was just one thing after another. And then right around that same time, we had Richard Speck kill eight student nurses on the South Side of Chicago. Me being a kid, I didn’t follow it really closely, but it was like, wow, there’s all these bad things happening.
I think that just made me realize the world is not as safe as you think it is when you were a kid.
‘There is no gray area’
This 1968 Austin High School student, who requested her last name be withheld, saw the impact of civil unrest firsthand in her West Side neighborhood. She recalled vivid memories of the time with Documenter James Klososky.
Did you do any extracurricular activities at Austin High School?
The one time I went to an activity on a Friday night, we were approached by two people with switchblades. It was the last time I ever went to one. I started going to work right after school. Of course, I’m the oldest of eight children, so I had to carry my load.
During the West Side riots, there was a push for better housing and integrating [schools]. As people moved into the Austin area between ’68 and ’69, white parents transferred their children from Austin to Kelvyn Park, Steinmetz, McDonogh, Lane Tech or Catholic schools.
What do you think about the current state of politics compared to 1968?
[When President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election], the Democrats did not bring any of this information forward. They knew he was not doing well, and they were not honest. One thing about Mayor Richard J. Daley was [the information] was always there: “This is how it’s going to go down. There is no gray area. It’s black and white in my city.” It gave someone a little bit of fear to [get them to] respect what was going on, you know what I’m saying? Unfortunately, sometimes you have to be a little hard to bring out respect.
‘It’s a whole new ballgame’
In 1968, after her family moved to the Gresham neighborhood, high schooler Lois Kelly took multiple buses and trains to finish out the year at Farragut with her friends. Kelly and Documenter Tammara Lockhart talked about the patterns of racial tension, white flight, disinvestment and gentrification they’ve observed in their communities, also noting that the years-long project of the Green Line’s Damen stop was accelerated for the 2024 DNC.
What do you remember about the aftermath from Martin Luther King Jr.’s death a few months before the DNC?
We encountered a whole lot of resentment, even from the police, after [the assassination]. I was a senior [in high school], and me and some of my friends were going to go up on 26th Street to have lunch, and the police politely told us to take our “Black A’s” right back. That area is called Little Village, and it was then mostly a Polish community.
They let you know where your place was. Right after King was killed, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, so people were still in an uproar over those two killings. There was a lot of tension in the neighborhood, and not so much from the white people. It was mostly the police that were harassing folks.
Did you know what a political primary was at the time?
No, I did not, and I don't think any of my friends did, because people weren't as politically astute as they are today. Where we got information was basically from the TV. There were three networks: ABC, NBC and WGN. And so that was like the world news. I can't remember ever seeing a political billboard.
Each area would have a [precinct] captain, and they would come around and they would tell you how to vote — this, that and the other. So that was mostly by word of mouth. I found out later they got paid for that.
What have you heard about this year’s Democratic National Convention?
I've heard they moved some of these homeless people [who were living] in and around those areas to get them out. My granddaughter informed me the other day that her school was invited to the United Center. She didn't really know what it was. She’s a majorette and they’re gonna do a dance. And then I told her. I explained to her that was the convention. She was really excited. I said, that is once in a lifetime.
What is your mindset as we enter the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election?
Now it's a whole new ballgame. People are pumped up. I'm pumped up. My friends are pumped up. My sorority sisters are pumped up. My neighbors are pumped up. It's like people were just about to yawn and just go to sleep, and then all of a sudden, Kamala gets in there. It's like a whole different thing.
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