History of North Lawndale, a brief summary

North Lawndale was a prosperous neighborhood in the early 1900s established by the Czechs. Many large companies such as Western Electronic and Sears Roebuck established their manufactures there during those times. In the 1920s, the Czechs left and the Jewish immigrants settled in. By the 1940s, half of the population were immigrant Jews. In the 1950s, many Blacks from the South were pushed upward due to urban renewal projects. Meanwhile, straight up racist laws that legally protected racial-segregation real estate practices such as "blockbusting" scared the majority of the White population out of North Lawndale (many Jews moved north to areas like Albany Park and Rogers Park). In ten years, the white population dropped from 99% to 9%. Additionally, After MLK's assassination in 1968, a riot broke out in Lawndale, damaging numerous businesses along Roosevelt. The long term effect was the escape of large industries such as International Harvesters, and Sears in 1974, into the downtown locations. They were followed by Zenith and Sunbeam and Western Electronics in the 1980s. North Lawndale experienced a 70% decrease in population. More info on Wiki.