Housing projects in Chicago emerged during the 1940s with the sole purpose of resolving the shortage of affordable homes for war-industry workers, many who were African American, as America prepared for World War II.
[7] A unique project, the housing units (actual homes) are built on full city lots, and following construction, the CHA required a minimum annual income as to promote eventual homeownership for residents.
[10] Elizabeth Wood, the executive director of the CHA, planned to integrate the temporary veterans' housing projects, as she had "absorbed [the] spirit" of both the values of United States in its efforts to combat fascism and authoritarianism abroad during World War II, and also the energy and hope of black veterans who sought to "challenge the country to live up to its wartime rhetoric about freedom.
[10] However, the CHA's second project, the Midway Airport Homes, resulted in mass discontent and violence prior to and after black families moved in.
Midway's fearful white working-class community reacted violently to the thought of black families entering the segregated neighborhood.
Bradford Hunt argues the failure of the Airport Homes integration marked a turning point for the CHA.
[12] Chicago City Council members and aldermen also noticed Kelly's increased effort to maintain the CHA integration initiative over other mismanaged and corrupt areas of the Democratic political machine.
[11] He was replaced by Martin Kennelly, a pro-business, anti-CHA Democrat who prioritized private real estate interests and the expansion of the downtown business district.
[25] Violence only deescalated when the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and Archibald Carey, Jr., an African American alderman, addressed Roseland's black population.
Takei cites census data for Chicago neighborhoods to track the increase—while only 4.2% of Roseland was African American in 1940, the black population grew to represent 18.4% of the community by 1950.
[26] Statistics from the next few decades, especially 1970 and 1980, illustrate rapid white flight from the area, as in 1970 African Americans represented 55.1% of Roseland's population, and by 1980, 97.5%.
The integration objectives of the CHA "proved too fragile to withstand the prejudices, preferences, and mobility of whites" who resided in segregated communities.
[27] In response to the riots, Mayor Kennelly and Chicago City Council aimed to reduce the CHA's influence and restore the Democratic party's control over housing initiatives.
[27] In just a few months after the Fernwood Park race riot, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) engaged in tactical changes to ensure faster response times to crises.
[29] Without meaningful bias training, systemic racism in the department hindered the ability of CPD to limit or end race riots.