Hosted By: Western Illinois University Office of Justice, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Join us as Dr. Peter Cole, WIU Professor of History, speaks to us about the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19) . The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19) commemorates the worst incident in the city’s history. The event has been long forgotten despite its impact on the subsequent shape and development of the city. Formally launched on the 100th anniversary of the riot, we aim to ignite conversations about past and present racism in Chicago and across the U.S. The path to achieving racial equity and justice first demands acknowledging the horrors of the past and the ways that structural inequities persist in communities of color.