Archive for the ‘Segregation and Desegregation’ Category
Benjamin Alexander, Black Activist, Remembers CORE
Archive Entry Date: 1991
A detailed, intimate account of the interracial alliance behind CORE's sit-ins
School Desegregation in Peoria, Illinois
Archive Entry Date: 06/1977
The US Commission on Civil Rights examined why a busing program hadn't alleviated segregation in Peoria's schools
The View From Peoria: It’s Not Playing Well
Archive Entry Date: 6/30/1974
The Washington Post traveled to Peoria to take the pulse of the nation during the Watergate crisis
Civil Rights Movement: Where Has Peoria Been?
Archive Entry Date: 05/12/1974
Twenty years after Brown v. Board of Education, the Journal Star examined the arc of the city's Civil Rights Movement
Peoria Chief of Police Commends Whittaker
Archive Entry Date: 05/17/1973
Juliette Whittaker was praised for her bravery by the Chief of Police as a hostage negotiator in the line of fire
Whittaker: Young Man of Great Potential
Archive Entry Date: 05/02/1973
Juliette Whittaker remembered gunman (and Black Panther) Melvin Burch as “a very gentle man”
Gunman Slain As Pupil Held Hostage In School
Archive Entry Date: 05/02/1973
In a high-stakes hostage standoff, the gunmen refused negotiations with anyone but Juliette Whittaker
Panther Clark Expected Death, Sister Reveals
Archive Entry Date: 12/29/1969
An obituary for Mark Clark — a Peorian Black Panther killed alongside Fred Hampton in a pre-dawn raid by Chicago police in 1969
Malcolm X Asks: “Who Will Help Mend America?”
Archive Entry Date: 1969
Juliette Whittaker's Civil Rights fresco
B.U. Statement Sound
Archive Entry Date: 03/10/1969
Three days later an editorial praised Bradley's “Statement of Principles” for enforcing the civil rights of all races
Richard Pryor Returns To Peoria Stage
Archive Entry Date: 03/09/1969
A benefit for the local Afro-American Black Peoples Federation brought Richard Pryor back to the Carver Center stage
Campbell Pledges Blacks in Building Trades Soon
Archive Entry Date: 03/09/1969
An “open society” in Peoria was the goal of the Tri-County Urban League's annual seven-part statement
No Union Men Attend Rights Group Meeting
Archive Entry Date: 03/08/1969
White-dominated construction unions were no-shows at a meeting to integrate building trades
BU Establishes Black Culture House, Sets Afro Degree Plan
Archive Entry Date: 03/07/1969
Protests by Bradley University's Black Student Alliance resulted in two new academic institutions
Meeting Dates Set For Police-Community Talks
Archive Entry Date: 03/05/1969
To allay black mistrust of Peoria's police, city leaders planned three-day retreats with blacks, police, and businessmen
‘Together In Peoria’
Archive Entry Date: 02/29/1969
Businessmen in Peoria showed a growing concern for race relations with an $85,000 pledge to Project TIP
The Black Guards
Archive Entry Date: 12/11/1968
Twelve black men took up arms to patrol their community — with the sanction of city hall
Black Muslim Group Opens South Side Temple
Archive Entry Date: 2/5/1968
The Nation of Islam made inroads among Peoria's black population
School Protests Suspended For Week
Archive Entry Date: 11/15/1967
After approximately 6,200 total student absences, student demonstrators paused to regroup
120 Negro Students, Suspended Yesterday, Barred
Archive Entry Date: 11/10/1967
120 Manual High School students were barred from returning to class the day after the mass walk-out
200 Students Walk Out in Protest March
Archive Entry Date: 11/09/1967
Teens in the NAACP staged a walk-out to protest inadequate conditions at their school
6 Jailed For Disorderly Conduct
Archive Entry Date: 07/21/1966
The NAACP pressured for school reform with another sit-in — and six were arrested
School Board Agrees To Meet After Singing Sit-In
Archive Entry Date: 07/19/1966
The NAACP staged a singing sit-in to press for changes in school curriculum and employment practices
I, Too, Sing America
Archive Entry Date: 02/1966
A glimpse of a musical number from Whittaker's Civil Rights inspired pageant, “I, Too, Sing America”
Fire Bomb Tossed Through Window Of Rehm Barber Shop
Archive Entry Date: 11/23/1964
A barbershop where blacks had been refused service was struck with a Molotov cocktail
Negro Heroes In Peoria
Archive Entry Date: 11/17/1964
The Peoria Journal Star saluted those black Peorians who had entered the middle class
Black Peorians Dropout in Alarming Numbers
Archive Entry Date: 11/2/1964
By November 1964, a 77% high school dropout rate beset black Peoria - higher than Chicago and Springfield.
Carver Variety Show Satire Provides ‘Touch’
Archive Entry Date: 12/06/1963
From the imagination of Juliette Whittaker, a Dixiecrat senator's tour of Hell
Landlords Profit While South Sides Goes To Pot
Archive Entry Date: 12/05/1963
For lack of a better option, Peoria's blacks were forced to rent overpriced and poorly maintained housing