The Urban History Seminar series feature a scholarly presentation followed by lively discussion. Joshua Salzmann, associate professor of history at Northeastern Illinois University, presents “Disarming Chicago: Gun Control from Black Power to Barack Obama.”

From Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Chicago Freedom Movement” to the presidency of Barack Obama, the Windy City has taken center stage in a national debate about race and gun control. White “law and order” politicians passed gun laws in the 1960s to strengthen the power of police to contain riots and student protests and to help dismantle the Black Panther Party. Many African American lawmakers subsequently embraced gun control in the 1970s and ’80s, as Chicago and other “Rust Belt” cities lost their industrial bases and crime spiked. Chicago’s local firearm laws, in turn, served as a model for national crime fighting policies advocated by Democrats, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and opposed by Republicans, including Donald Trump.

The Zoom session will open at 6:45 p.m. with the program starting at 7:00 p.m. and concluding by 8:15 p.m. RSVP is required.

This session is free of charge; we would greatly appreciate a donation to the Museum in any amount. A Zoom link will be provided after registration.

The Urban History Seminars have been generously underwritten by the Chicago History Museum since 1983.