8th Annual CRR19 Historic Bike Tour

Join the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project for our 8th Annual Historic Bike Tour, a 7-mile slow-roll ride through Bronzeville, Bridgeport, and the lakefront that explores the history and lasting legacy of the 1919 Chicago Race Riot.

This year's tour marks a historic milestone, the completion of our seven-year campaign to install all 38 memorial markers honoring each life lost during the Chicago Race Riot of 1919. Together, these memorials transform Chicago into a living memorial that remembers the past while inspiring healing and justice for future generations.

Along the route, participants will hear the stories of the victims, learn how the events of 1919 shaped Chicago's neighborhoods, and visit sites that connect our city's history to the present.

Tour Details:

Starting Location: Eugene Williams Memorial Plaza (125 Fort Dearborn Drive)Directional signage will be provided

Ending Location: Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Parking Lot D535th Street & State Street

Schedule

• 9:15–9:45 a.m. – Check-in (and check out the two new markers!)
• 10:00 a.m. – Opening program
• 10:30 a.m. – Ride begins

Getting There:

Parking

We recommend parking at IIT Parking Lot D5, where the tour concludes. Free parking is available.

From D5, riders may bike approximately two miles to the starting location. Our volunteers will lead two optional "bike buses" departing at 9:00 a.m. and 9:20 a.m.

Paid parking is also available near 31st Street Beach, adjacent to the starting location, though spaces may be limited on summer weekends.

Public Transit

CTA riders can reach the start via the Red or Green Line and connect to the #35 bus. Bikes are permitted on CTA trains on Saturdays, and CTA buses are equipped with bike racks.

Divvy Bikes

Need a bike? Divvy will fully stock the stations near 31st Street Beach for the event.

A limited number of $50 Divvy credits are available for registered participants while supplies last. The credit covers the full cost of a classic bike rental for the tour. Participants wishing to receive a code should email us after registering. Divvy bikes require either the Divvy or Lyft app. To request the coupon code to get the Divvy credit, please email us at: [email protected]

Accessibility

A trolley will accompany the tour and stop at each location. Seating is limited and will be prioritized for elders and participants needing mobility accommodations.

To request a trolley seat, please email:[email protected]

Registration

The event is free to attend, with optional donations supporting the ongoing work of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project.

Questions? Email [email protected]

We look forward to riding with you as we honor the lives lost, celebrate the completion of all 38 memorial markers, and continue the journey toward remembrance, justice, and healing.

About CRR19:

The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19) exists to commemorate the worst incident of racial violence in the city’s history. The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 is long forgotten, despite its huge impact on the subsequent shape and development of the city. CRR19 will offer a powerful model for how to use dispersed public art to remember past atrocities and provoke conversations about their legacy to ignite conversations about racism, past and present, in Chicago and the nation. Inspired by Stolpersteine, an ongoing German project to honor Holocaust victims, we intend to create and install artistic markers at each of the 38 locations where someone was killed in 1919. Formally launched on the 100th anniversary of the 1919 riot, we believe that now is the moment for Chicago to confront its bloodiest chapter and heal the wounds that time alone has not. We must remember America’s troubled past of racial violence and white supremacy if we wish to improve the future. To move towards racial equality and justice by creating chances for more discussions and more challenging ones about race and racism, past and present.

CRR19 website: https://chicagoraceriot.org/

CRR19 introductory video:

About our Partners:

Organic Oneness

Organic Oneness is the fiscal sponsor and program partner of CRR19.

We bring people together to eliminate racism and create healthy communities in Chicago.Through a Consultative Framework, we co-create with a multitude of partners to provide educational, transformational, and service oriented spaces that foster a mindset of truth and justice at the individual, community, and institutional levels, with the overall goal of transforming hearts and changing systems for the betterment of Black and Brown communities. www.OrganicOneness.org

Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. As a collaborative cultural presenter, arts funder, and advocate for creative workers, our programs and events serve Chicagoans and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, downtown and in diverse communities across our city — to strengthen and celebrate Chicago. DCASE produces some of the city’s most iconic festivals, markets, events, and exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, and in communities across the city — serving a local and global audience of 25 million people. The Department offers cultural grants and resources, manages public art, supports TV and film production and other creative industries, and permits special events throughout Chicago. For details, visit Chicago.gov/DCASE and stay connected via our newsletters and social media.

Chicago Monuments Project

The Chicago Monuments Project was launched in 2020 to address inequities in Chicago’s monument landscape while supporting new monuments, memorials, and public artworks that reflect the city’s diverse histories and communities. Supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project, ongoing initiatives include a memorial to victims of police violence; a monument honoring gospel singer and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson; a commission honoring Native voices at the future DuSable Park, and a new Italian Heritage Monument in Arrigo Park dedicated to Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini following an extensive community engagement process.

Firebird Community Arts

Firebird Community Arts empowers and connects people through the healing practice of glassblowing and ceramics.We serve those who have been impacted by structural or individual trauma, including violently-injured youth, veterans, formerly-incarcerated individuals, undocumented and immigrant populations and Chicago Public School students on the South and West sides. www.firebirdcommunityarts.org

Illinois Tech, Office of Community Affairs and Outreach

The priority is to build formal relationships and partnerships between Illinois Tech, local community-based organizations, businesses, and Chicago Public Schools, as well as the surrounding Chicago community areas. With a general focus on shoring up education opportunities and amplifying art and culture, as well as stimulating economic development, the Office of Community Affairs and Outreach Programs aims to be the connective tissue linking the Illinois Tech community—faculty, students, and staff—with the organizations, businesses, and individuals looking to make a positive change in Bronzeville and in the surrounding communities on the South Side. www.iit.edu/community-affairs