W E D N E S D A Y
April 4, 2018 Vol. 38, No. 37 ONE DOLLAR
@oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Special pullout section
How the ‘68 ‘ riots rocked Oak Park As the West Side burned, some residents feared the village would be next By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
Fifty years ago today — on April 4, 1968 — Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. Within roughly an hour he was dead and the whole country knew it. By Saturday, April 6, the West Side of Chicago was destroyed, leaving some residents in Oak Park fearing that their community would be next to lie in ruins. Oak Park was not destroyed, but interviews with current residents who lived through that history and archival material, such as newspaper articles, books and government reports, show that the village was nonetheless deeply affected by the riots that happened in the wake of King’s death. Wyanetta Johnson, a nearly 50-year resident of Oak Park, was living on the city’s North Side at the time. After learning of King’s death, she went to cash a check, but couldn’t remember her name. “I was in such shock,” she recalled during a phone interview last week. “They kept looking at me and I kept asking myself, ‘What is my name?’ before I finally said what it was. The situation was mind-boggling.” The next morning, Friday, April 5, students at Marshall High in East Garfield Park, arrived with King’s image taped to their coats. Many students stayed home, anticipating trouble. See RIOTS on page 14
Photo by LARRY SMITH
ON THE SCENE: An Oak Park man was killed and some 20 people were displaced by a fire that broke out Easter Sunday morning in a 10-unit condo building at 327 Wisconsin Ave.
Oak Park man dies in Sunday fire About 20 residents vacate 10-unit condo building
By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
An Oak Park man was killed and some 20 people were displaced by a fire that broke out Easter Sunday morning in a 10unit condo building at 327 Wisconsin Ave. Oak Park Deputy Fire Chief Peter Pilafas said firefighters responded to the call, which came in just after 9 a.m. on April 1.
“We arrived at the scene and had heavy fire coming out of the windows of the second-floor condo unit,” he said. “Fire department crews went in and found a male victim in the second floor condo. “Unfortunately, due to his condition, we were unable to revive him.” The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet identified the victim or an official cause of death.
For Nicole Holmes, a resident of the building, the morning started off with a loud bang. She then heard “screaming and things falling over” coming from the unit where the fire originated, she said. “I opened the door and I could see smoke coming from the unit; I called 911,” she said. See FIRE on page 13