1960s

Black and white image of Martin Luther King speaking to a crowd in Homan Square
Black and white image of a crowd in an auditorium in Homan Square

1966—Civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., moves in to the neighborhood briefly and sets up a northern base for the civil rights movement.

1968—The grassroots Contract Buyers League is formed in 1968 by residents of North Lawndale to fight the discriminatory real estate practice known as “contract selling.”

1968—Riots and fires that follow King’s assassination destroy large portions of Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods; North Lawndale loses the majority of its remaining businesses, nearly 20 percent of its buildings, and half its population.

Black and white image of a crowd outside in Homan Square