On July 17, 1967, riots broke out in Cairo, Ill., after a young black soldier was found dead in a jail cell. The small town at the southern tip of Illinois had a long history of racial tensions and outright violence. In 1909, a Black man was lynched in the middle of town as thousands of people watched. But the jailhouse death of Private Robert Hunt – was it suicide or murder? – triggered a new era of racial unrest. Rioting lasted days, until it was halted by the arrival of the National Guard. That was followed by years of sporadic violence, including firebombings, as the city’s residents clashed.
This was also an era of renewed activism by Cairo’s Black population. They marched to demand civil rights, fair housing, and full participation in local government. Led by an organization called United Front, they banded together to feed the poor and educate children.
That was what noted photographer George W. Gardner wanted to document when he visited Cairo in 1969 and 1970 – both the tensions and the spirit of community. When his photos were published in 1972, Gardner wrote, “There is a great deal of shooting in Cairo. ... It is the first American town with the gun really louder than the rhetoric." You can read more about his work, including the Cairo photos, here.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has acquired Gardner’s prints from his time in Cairo. They capture a precarious moment in Illinois history. Here are a few of them.
Marching to demand equal rights.
Cairo’s Black residents banded together to help one another.
They organized to stand up against racism.
Activists sought to strengthen the Black community in a town beset by economic problems.
