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Martin Luther King announced plans for the Chicago Freedom Movement, a campaign that marked the expansion of their civil rights activities from the South to northern cities. King believed that ‘‘the nonviolent movement philosophy was needed to help eradicate a vicious system which seeks to further colonize thousands of Negroes within a slum environment’’ King and family move into an apartment in Chicago to be closer to the movement
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About 35,000 persons jammed Chicago's Soldier Field for Dr. King's first giant ‘freedom rally' since bringing his civil rights organizing tactics to the city. King called for a continued effort to end racial discrimination and poverty
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By this stage, the Chicago Freedom Movement was staging regular rallies outside of Real Estate offices and marches into all-white neighborhoods on the city's southwest and northwest sides. These rallies were aimed at addressing the housing issues experienced by African-Americans
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During a march through an all-white neighborhood, black demonstrators were met with racially fueled hostility. Bottles and bricks were thrown at them, and King was struck by a rock. Afterward he noted: ‘‘I have seen many demonstrations in the South but I have never seen anything so hostile and so hateful as I’ve seen here today’’
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The Mayor of Chicago was eager to find a way to end the demonstrations and violence. High-level negotiations between city leaders, movement activists, and representatives of the Chicago Real Estate Board began.
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A summit agreement was announced in which the Chicago Housing Authority promised to build public housing for African-Americans, and the Mortgage Bankers Association agreed to make mortgages available regardless of race. This ensured positive steps to open up housing opportunities in metropolitan Chicago to African-Americans.
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King, in a 24 March 1967 press conference, said, ‘‘it appears that for all intents and purposes, the public agencies have [reneged] on the agreement ... it is a sham and a batch of false promises’’
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After the open-housing marches and Summit agreements, attention turned to other issues, including the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King declared that no more demonstrations were necessary; the Chicago Freedom Movement was over.
