Conversation

After a white gunman murdered MLK in 1968, riots broke out across the country.

In Chicago, it's widely said these riots are to blame for the acres of vacant land and the dearth of businesses on the West Side, where the riots started.

@ProPublica's 2020 investigation took a closer look at that claim.

We found other factors at play:
• Broken promises by gov't to rebuild
• Overzealous "blight removal" programs
• Rampant speculation by real estate investors

https://www.propublica.org/article/disinvested-how-government-and-private-industry-let-the-main-street-of-a-black-neighborhood-crumble