Chicago Mayor Blames Richard Nixon for City’s Street Violence Surge. In recent years, Chicago’s leaders have attributed the city’s notorious street violence to a range of external factors. Targets have included figures like Donald Trump, entities such as gun manufacturers, and even historical groups like the Pilgrims. However, following a particularly violent Independence Day weekend that saw 109 people shot and 21 fatalities, Mayor Brandon Johnson offered a new culprit: Richard Milhous Nixon.
“We are standing here today talking about a violent weekend because of generations of disinvestment,” Johnson told a room full of reporters. “Black death has been unfortunately accepted in this country for a very long time,” Johnson claimed.
“We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes and people mocked President [Lyndon] Johnson and we ended up with Richard Nixon.”
Historians might argue that the primary reason Lyndon Johnson did not beat Richard Nixon in 1968 was that Lyndon Johnson chose not to run for re-election. Moreover, Nixon passed away in 1994, making it unclear how Johnson concluded that Chicagoans, who have continuously called on city leaders to address violent crime, are accepting of “Black death.”
Johnson also suggested that federal and state law enforcement agencies aren’t doing enough to help Chicago. He called on federal agencies to respond to mass shootings in Chicago “just like they do in other places in this country.”
Mayor Johnson emphasized the need for greater support: “It’s not enough for me to stand here and say homicides are down and shootings are down. It’s not enough.” In fact, year-to-date shootings have increased compared to 2023, although homicides are still trailing last year’s tally by about 10%.
Johnson vowed to hold “every single individual” responsible for the weekend’s violence accountable. Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling echoed this sentiment: “We need to take these people off the street, and we need to keep them off the street.”
Violence during summertime gatherings has been a longstanding issue in Chicago. Snelling noted that while the police play a crucial role, the problem is fundamentally a “societal issue.” He remarked that the police “cannot invade every single gathering where there’s a possibility that someone may show up with a gun.”
Following the publication of Mayor Johnson’s comments, the Richard Nixon Foundation responded. “Mayor Johnson’s reference to President Nixon is gratuitous and the facts are not on his side in his characterization of Richard Nixon and the Nixon administration’s civil rights record,” the organization said in a tweet, listing several civil rights accomplishments of Nixon’s administration.
The foundation highlighted Nixon’s efforts in school desegregation, federal equal-opportunity policies, and support for black-owned businesses. They noted that from 1969 to 1971, the government’s federal purchases from black-owned businesses increased more than 900%, among other initiatives aimed at supporting minority communities.
As Chicago grapples with its ongoing violence crisis, Mayor Johnson’s attribution of the root causes to historical figures like Richard Nixon has sparked debate and drawn responses from historical institutions. The situation underscores the complex interplay of historical, social, and policy-related factors in addressing urban violence. As city leaders and law enforcement work towards solutions, the discourse around responsibility and action continues to evolve.
