Chicago Stories: Boss

Chicago became a very split up city as it developed. In a short story called, Boss, the structure of the city was explained. It explained that, "To the north of the Loop was Germany. To the northwest was Poland. To the west were Italy and Israel. To the southwest were Bohemia and Lithuania. And to the south was Ireland." Chicago was completely separated by race and ethnicity. The cities created social barriers and people were unable to cross the boundaries bordering the towns of different ethnicities. After a black kid was killed after crossing one of these boundaries, "The biggest race war in Chicago's history erupted. It raged for four days and left 15 whites and 23 blacks dead, 178 whites and 342 blacks injured. About one thousand homes were burned." The racism and segregation created an extreme hate for bordering parts of the city. The city created gangs and violence that was threatening to everyone. The city was a dangerous place and gangs and violence still exist today.