CHICAGO (AP) - Efforts to create a public art project honoring those killed during race riots in Chicago in 1919 are gaining traction.
The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project is working to create and install markers at 38 locations where people were killed. The riots remain among the deadliest incidents of racial violence in Chicago history.
The effort is being led by Peter Cole, a Western Illinois University professor, and Franklin Cosey-Gay, who leads the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Protection.
The project recently received a $2,500 Illinois Humanities grant, according to a WIU new release. Over the summer the project organized historic bike tours to draw awareness.
According to Cole, the group is working with Firebird Community Arts, a Chicago studio that uses art as therapy for teenage violence victims. They’ll create the first six markers to be placed in Chicago, including in downtown and the South Side neighborhood of Bronzeville, according to WIU.
Organizers are working toward approval from city officials and hope to place the first markers next year.
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