Chicago’s West Side gathered at the Kehrein Center for the Arts on Feb. 7 for a screening of “When the West Side Burned,” a documentary exploring the 1968 unrest following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, followed by a community discussion.
The documentary tells the stories of 18 people who lived through the late 1960s, including those who met or worked with King, as well as community members, reporters and police officers. Through their perspectives, it captures the complexity and emotion residents faced.
After the screening, residents got to hear a panel and participate in a community discussion and see a performance by the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, co-founded and led by artistic director Robert Davis, featuring songs such as The End of Hope Migration and Block Party.
The panel was moderated by Dan Andries, producer of “When the West Side Burned” and featured senior pastor bishop Derrick Fitzpatrick, executive pastor Dr. Reshorna Fitzpatrick, West Side resident Billy L. Brooks and Reesheda Berry, founding executive director of The Kehrein Center.
Stone Temple Baptist Church is the historic community church where King spoke during his time organizing in Chicago.
Derrick Fitzpatrick said King and his grandfather, the late Rev. Dr. James Stone, founding pastor of Stone Temple Baptist Church, shared a longstanding friendship that began in Georgia, was rooted in their shared faith, and was strengthened by a mutual commitment to advancing social justice in the North as well as the South.
“When Dr. King was coming to Chicago, he would come to Stone Chapel, and with my grandfather it became his home on the West Side. He set up offices there and held meetings there. The era we talk about most is 1966, when he was preaching to the community about redlining and the injustices taking place,” Fitzpatrick said. “During that time, Mayor Richard Daley, who you also saw in the documentary, told Black preachers that they did not need King in the city and urged them not to let him into their churches.”
Grounded in faith and committed to King’s movement, Fitzpatrick’s grandfather welcomed King to Chicago despite efforts to keep him out of the city. By opening Stone Temple Baptist Church to him, Fitzpatrick said, his grandfather helped establish a vital hub for King’s organizing on the West Side and played a key role in securing the apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin Ave. where King lived.
Brooks reflected that as a young man on the West Side in 1966, he witnessed King’s visit to Soldier Field. He said King’s presence created a pressure for the city to confront change, and his approach to nonviolent civil disobedience was both critical and effective.
“Today, with what’s going on with ICE and our response as people who often forget the significance of what Dr. King gave us on a moral level, it’s important to remember his message. Dr. King said very clearly that you don’t judge a person by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. As a young sophomore in high school in 1966, a year after the assassination of Al-Haj Malik Shabazz, it was critical then, and it remains critical today for us to truly recognize the humanity embodied in Martin Luther King,” Brooks said.
The documentary highlights a moment of profound grief while also focusing on the people who lived through it, emphasizing the ongoing work in the community. Reshorna Fitzpatrick discussed programs at Stone Temple, including a three-day-a-week food distribution that provides groceries and cooked meals. She said these efforts help community members not just survive, but thrive, allowing them to pay bills while still having enough to eat.
“Another thing we do is engage, empower, and educate people about tree planting. Many people don’t realize how important trees are in our neighborhoods, but they really are, they build wealth in the community, improve health and contrary to popular belief, reduce violence. We run training programs and a tree ambassador program, where we go into the community to teach young men how to plant trees,” Reshorna Fitzpatrick said.
Berry noted that the Kehrein Center for the Arts exists because of Glen Kehrein, a West Side activist and ally, who championed asset-based community development. Brooks said many in the community are part of that history and benefit from Kehrein’s leadership, which continues to shape local arts and community work.
“Kehrein Center for the Arts is named to honor Glen’s legacy, but if Glen were here, he would likely have preferred the building not be named after him. More than the brick and mortar, I want to celebrate the human beings, the people, and the lives on the West Side of Chicago, because that is what truly deserves recognition and celebration,” Berry said.