The Airport Homes riots of December 1946 were Chicago's worst racial violence in three decades, exposing systemic resistance to integrated public housing.
Key Facts
- Date
- December 1946
- Location
- West Lawn and West Elsdon neighborhoods, Chicago
- Housing site
- Airport Homes, Chicago Housing Authority temporary housing
- CHR incidents recorded
- 357 serious incidents of blacks moving into white neighborhoods 1945–1950
- Primary rioters
- Elderly residents and women during working hours
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A severe postwar housing shortage led the Chicago Housing Authority to establish temporary housing at Airport Homes for returning veterans and their families. When Black war veterans and their families were assigned to these homes alongside white veterans in the predominantly white West Lawn and West Elsdon neighborhoods, local white residents mobilized in opposition, driven by racial hostility and fears of neighborhood integration.
In December 1946, white residents of West Lawn and West Elsdon rioted against Black veterans and their families seeking to move into the Airport Homes public housing site. The violence occurred largely during daytime working hours and was carried out mainly by elderly residents and women. Chicago's Commission on Human Relations advised major newspapers to limit coverage, resulting in sparse reporting and limited historical documentation of the events.
The riots successfully intimidated several Black families from occupying the housing. The West Elsdon Civic Association emerged as a prominent opponent of the Chicago Housing Authority and its executive secretary Elizabeth Wood. Opposition to integrated public housing persisted for decades, with the association joining a citywide coalition against scattered-site public housing in white neighborhoods into the early 1970s.
Political Outcome
Black veterans and families were intimidated into leaving Airport Homes; segregated occupancy was effectively maintained through mob pressure.
Chicago Housing Authority pursuing integrated temporary veteran housing at Airport Homes
CHA policy undermined by community resistance; West Elsdon Civic Association established as vocal political opponent of integrated public housing