Douglas (Bronzeville) in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Edward Lee
1871-1919
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025
1. Edward Lee Marker
I am a friend and an artist
I am alone with my thoughts
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. 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° 49.869′ N, 87° 37.565′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Douglas (Bronzeville). It is on East 35th Street near Stouh State Street. The marker is one of five embedded into a sidewalk just west of the 35th-Bronzeville-IIT stop on the CTA Green Line 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: John Walter Humphrey (here, next to this marker); Hymes Taylor (here, next to this marker); Chicago Race Riot of 1919 (here, next to this marker); William J. Otterson (here, next to this marker); Joseph Sanford (here, next to this marker); Welcome to Bronzeville (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Welcome to Bronzeville
this page online
More about this marker. The sidewalk marker is one of 19 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 Edward Lee. 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 were 500 injured, and more than 1,000 people,
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025
2. 1919 Race Riot markers in front of the 35th-Bronzeville-IIT "L" station
On July 28, the day after Williams's death, a rumor spread that a white tenant of the Angelus, an all-white apartment building that was located close to this spot, had sniped a Black child from his fourth-floor apartment. Hundreds of Black residents converged on this building in protest. After police searched the building and found no one, a policeman was hit by a brick from a protester. While the details remain hazy, gunfire began to ring out, likely from both police and protesters, and chaos ensued.
Amid the unrest, Edward Lee, a Chicago native who worked at the Union Stock Yards, happened to be at the Walgreen's drug store at 35th and State, a short distance away, as he was feeling ill and looking for medicine. While at or near the store, Lee was hit by a bullet and killed. While some believed that he was purposely killed by a police officer, the coroner's jury surmised that he was most likely killed by a bullet from one of the protesters shooting at a policeman.
Also see . . . Commemorating the Killed: Edward Lee. (Submitted on November 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025
3. Race riot markers near 35th Street
Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum, circa 1919
4. Black protesters converge at Walgreen's at 35th and State
Edward Lee was shopping at this Walgreen's drug at 35th and State, near the current site of this sidewalk marker, when he was shot and killed during the 1919 race riots. The caption from the Chicago History Museum: "Crowd of African-American men standing on the sidewalks in front of a Walgreen Drugs at 3501 South State Street during a race riot in Chicago, Illinois, 1919. Police officers are standing at the forefront of the crowd."
Credits. This page was last revised on December 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 67 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
