Death of King

  In 1967 there were riots all across the country as urban blacks were shipped to Vietnam and there were no substantial changes to society being made. Chicago communities however, held fast throughout the hot summer and refrained from rioting in the streets. Perhaps Daley had learned his lesson last summer, as all the fire hydrants were allowed to be opened during hot days. During this time WSO made strong connections with the Community Relations Department and Police Department. Such groups relied on the influence that WSO had within the community, especially the youths. WSO formed baseball teams comprised of youths to get them off the street and out of gangs.

  On the Westside, the movement was still going strong. WSO continued working along with the SCLC to continue the Chicago Freedom Movement and the SCLC along with King had constructed the Poor People's Campaign. A campaign to end economic injustice and human rights violations within the United States. In April of 1968, WSO was hard at work preparing for the Poor People's Campaign. Meanwhile King was travelling across the country as ministers and civil rights leaders called upon him to give speeches and rally people together in preparation for the campaign. It was while working on the Memphis Sanitation Strike that Martin Luther King was shot down. 

   That day will forever live on in history as one where the heart and souls of men across America wept for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His murder carried deep implications for the Civil Rights Movement and although some of his work would be completed, without his guidance and leadership quality, the movement would die off. Immediatly after the assassination everyone knew violence was inevitable. The night of his death people were crying all across the Westside.  Although King stood for peace, there were many who didn't believe in his words of nonviolence. Whites were especially at risk and many were pulled out of their cars and into the streets. WSO served during this time to protect the community, whites and blacks, from the violence. A group of five WSO members and about fifteen community volunteers seperated into two groups and went west and east to keep the streets safe. Of course WSO did what they could but ultimately law enforcement were the greater means to returning peace to a seemingly wartorn city.

   The National Guard was again called into help but the city, especially black communities was soon to be in flames. Looting and Arson spread throughout the streets and the day after the horrendous riot, Mayor Richard Joseph Daley flew over the city in a helicopter and upon seeing the Westside smoking and burning, ordered that police may 'shoot to kill' any looters. The Westside of Chicago had become like a war-zone, soldiers with bayonettes, tanks on the streets. Simply walking on the street put ones life in danger.

  After the smoke had cleared, the movement continued on. King's funeral was held in his hometown of Atlanta Georgia on April 9th and all of WSO, including Reverend Crawford, was in attendence. King's legacy continued after his death as the Poor People's Campaign and Chicago Freedom Movement brought much needed reform. The actions of all who took part in the Civil Rights Movement served to elevate underserved peoples all across America to greater heights. During these scary times when peace-makers, civil rights leaders, politicans, and even the President of the United States, were being murdered, it took a lot for an individual to find the strength to continue demonstrating.

Either you took part in protesting or you didn't. Reverend Crawford walked hand in hand with both blacks and whites on the front lines. When one is involved in the thick of the movement, race and ethnicity no longer matter. As Reverend Crawford put's it: "There's no color in the foxhole, only different spirits." The unity King brought to blacks and whites was unprecedented for it's time. A full half century later, his message resonates now more than ever.