Douglas (Bronzeville) in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Joseph Sanford
1885-1919
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025
1. Joseph Sanford Marker
On Lake Michigan
I am Eugene
Erected 2024 by Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Disasters • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project, Illinois series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 28, 1919.
Location. 41° 49.868′ N, 87° 37.568′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Douglas (Bronzeville). It is on East 35th Street near South State Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is just west of the entrance to the 35th-Bronzeville-IIT station on the CTA Green Line elevated train. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chicago IL 60616, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Hymes Taylor (here, next to this marker); Chicago Race Riot of 1919 (here, next to this marker); Edward Lee (here, next to this marker); John Walter Humphrey (here, next to this marker); William J. Otterson (here, next to this marker); Welcome to Bronzeville (a few steps from this
this page online
More about this marker. The sidewalk marker is one of several erected (including five at this location near 35th and State) by the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project in remembrance of those killed during the deadly racial violence that gripped Chicago in the summer of 1919. Inspired by the Stolpersteine ("Stumbling Stones") project in Europe, which erects sidewalk markers honoring Holocaust victims, these markers in Chicago have been placed on sidewalks at sites where people were killed in 1919.
Regarding Joseph Sanford. On July 27, 1919, Eugene Williams, a Black 17-year-old, was riding in a homemade raft with four friends in Lake Michigan when it accidentally floated past the invisible boundary that demarcated what was a de-facto "whites-only" part of the beach. A white man, George Stauber, threw stones at the boys and killed Williams. The scene set off a wave of protests followed by a week of racially driven violence. Between July 27 and Aug. 3, 38 people died (23 were Black and 15 white), more than 500
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025
2. Five markers honoring the Chicago Race Riot of 1919
Five markers lead up to the CTA Green Line "L" stop at 35th-Bronzeville-IIT.
A day after Williams's death, on July 28, rumor spread that a white tenant of the Angelus, an all-white apartment building that stood not far from this location, had shot a white child. A crowd of several hundred Black protesters converged at the Angelus, drawing more than 100 policemen to the scene. After they searched the building and found no one, a policeman was hit by a brick from a protester. While the details remain hazy, police began firing into the crowd, and ultimately five men were dead four of them Black, including Joseph Sanford, a 37-year-old Pullman porter who had moved from Tennessee to Chicago with his wife and two children about 10 years earlier. The coroner could not determine if the shots had come from police or bystanders, and no one was charged.
Also see . . .
1. Commemorating the Killed: Joseph Sanford. (Submitted on November 17, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. Chicago magazine: Blood in the Streets. A 2019 look back at at the race riots that engulfed Chicago for a week in the summer of 1919. Joseph Sanford was killed by gunfire after Black protesters converged on an apartment building that was near the site of this historical marker. (Submitted on November 17, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025
3. Joseph Sanford Marker
This marker is the last one before the sidewalk.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 17, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 49 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 17, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
